An End for the Budget Traveller?

As the effects of escalating oil costs continue to affect industries across the board, the credit crunch looks set to hit the consumer hardest once again. Ryanair are the latest company to reveal the extent of its financial hardships, with annual losses expected to approach GBP50 million. In fact, in the three months to the end of June, the carrier’s net profits had fallen a staggering 85% to just 21 million euro. With the significant increases in the price of oil over the past few months - a figure which saw it reach a peak in mid-July of nearly $150 per barrel - an announcement such as this was somewhat expected... Read more »

Are Cell Phones Really Worse Than Smoking While Driving?

There is a huge push to make talking on a cell phone while driving illegal. Many states have already passed laws that make it so. But when you think about it, what really is the reason for this attack on cell phone users? There are many things that people do in their car while driving which can be considered as distracting and dangerous. Smoking is an activity that is surely just as distracting as talking on your cell phone. How many times have you pulled up to a traffic light to see the car next to you with the window cracked and the person... Read more »

Mortgage Rates Jump up to Highest Level Seen in 2008

After falling for most of the month of July Mortgage interest rates jumped up. And not only did they move up they jumped to the highest levels we have seen in 2008. 30 Year rates jumped from 6.26 to 6.63 last week. To put that in perspective for the entire month of May mortgage rates fluctuated between 5.98 to 6.08. The increases were not confined to 30 Year rates, 15 year rates went from 5.78 to 6.18, 5 Year Arms went from 5.80 to 6.16 and 1 Year Arms went from 5.10 to 5.49. The interest rates we saw this week for all the major 4 mortgage products were the highest numbers we have seen for all of 2008. When was the last time... Read more »

Taking Architectural Visualisation To A New Level

Does it ever make you wonder what goes through designers and builders heads when you see some of the ultra modern buildings that we have today? Personally speaking, I think it’s a good thing to see the results of architectural visualisation that lead us to some of the high tech buildings we have today. If we have to have a landscape littered with practical buildings then why not make them beautiful, practical buildings? Designers and architects have been challenged greatly over the years, coming up with designers that not only function as we would expect them to but are also resistant to our modern day dilemmas of terrorism and earthquakes. Designers, architects, builders... Read more »

Organic Garden Tips And So Much More!

In this day and age, many people are becoming more aware of the environment as well as the world around them. If you’re an official “Greenie” or you want to get into organic gardening there a few really easy ways to go about this! First off, why should you try anything organic or “green?” Its been said since the 1980s and even earlier on that there was a huge hole forming in the ozone from things like methane gases from garbage dumps, animals becoming extinct because of littering, and polar ice caps melting and collapsing piece by piece because of the rising temperatures. Isn’t it about time we start saving the place we live in, rather... Read more »

Health And Safety For Our Children

The health and safety experts have been at it again. The age old tradition of children participating in sack races at schools sports day, all in the name of that horrendous past time called fun, have been ruled out on the grounds that it is dangerous. I suppose it’s because of that awful chaffing of the sack cloth against the children’s knees. Sack cloth injuries may not be life threatening but they are detrimental to the children’s quality of life. After all, we all know what it’s like to try and sit cross legged in a packed assembly hall with a scab on the knee. The first... Read more »

T. Boone Pickens Speaks Out On America’s Energy Crisis

T. Boone Pickens is a legendary Oil man and investor who reached the billionaire stage long ago. Pickens knows a thing or two about oil drilling and America’s dependence upon foreign oil. In a recent interview with CNN’s Lou Dobbs, Pickens had this to say about the sad state of America’s current energy position. “The problem is unbelievable for this country. We are in a crisis mode and let me give it to you right quick. We′re spending $700 billion a year on foreign oil, $700 billion.... Read more »

Why The Public Is Increasingly Going Private

The private hospital is experiencing a boom in the modern healthcare structure. The reasons behind this are diverse but there are a few which stand out; of these a dissatisfaction with the national health service is the most striking. However, people are also choosing to visit a private hospital so they can have their own room, a more diverse menu and the option to have family stay with them. Increasingly the NHS is sending their patients to private hospitals and paying for the treatment. The government has created a fund for this policy as it helps to take pressure off the beleaguered health service. It is hoped by outsourcing certain... Read more »

The Importance Of Infection Control In Medical Management

Infection control has become somewhat of a political hot potato in recent years with the media producing stories on the spreading of so called ’super-bugs’ in hospitals and medical institutions. Thankfully to combat the problem a growing number of workers are undergoing online training programmes to reduce instances of these bugs such as MRSA and C.difficile. The knowledge gained from these courses is expected to help if a pandemic of any of these virus strains breaks out. Recent research has shown that workers who undergo the online training are more adept in infection control procedures and informing patients on how to reduce the chances of contamination. In terms of self assessment, workers who were surveyed before undertaking the online infection control course gave... Read more »

Equitable Outcome for Debt-Ridden Pension Holders

Equitable Life promised money that it couldn’t afford, building a house of cards that would capitulate in 2000. Throughout the 1990s, the life insurance company promised so much and would eventually deliver so little when the company’s assets were valued at 3 billion pounds less than the customers’ policies. Ann Abraham, Parliamentary Ombudsman for the Equitable Life debacle has declared that the government should admit negligence for their part. The government is accused of not monitoring the ‘dubious practices’ that have subsequently been discovered, including naming... Read more »