We are all, to a greater or lesser extent, consumed by self.  Quite obviously, we are always in our own company and, therefore, cannot help but place ourselves first in our own worlds.  It is inescapable.  The world at large, or macro-world, is an amalgam of the billions of individual, or micro-worlds, of which it is comprised.

The English poet, John Donne, stated “No man is an island…”  And yet, in a sense, every person is an island – not in terms of complete independence from others, but rather in terms of total dependence upon self.  Nowhere is that dependence more critical than in the area of perception, for through perception we view, order, and generally make sense of the macro-world and micro-worlds surrounding our own.

The data from which our perceptions are formed is gleaned via the senses, the five portals for data recovery about which we all learned in elementary school, as well as that indefinable sixth sense that we intuitively understand ourselves to possess.  While data encompassing images and messages of infinite variety exists in the macro-world, we each depend upon our micro-world for its processing.

For those of us fortunate enough to have sight and the ability to distinguish color, we all have the capacity to see and identify the color “red.”  How “red” looks to anyone other than myself, however, is a complete mystery to me – likewise, all images, sounds, and other stimuli.  As evidence that images appear different to different people, I ask a simple question.  Have you ever seen a house painted a particular color and wondered to yourself how anyone could possibly consider it to be appealing?

If true of images, it is likely accurate that all external stimuli are defined by the perceptions of individuals.  Is not “beauty in the eye of the beholder?”   And so, the macro-world, far from being objective reality, is simply an extension of the individual micro-world that observes and perceives it.

Of course, it well may be that the perceptions of many or most individuals are either the same or substantially similar.  In that case, the macro-world, or portions of it, would represent a consensus of reality rather than an objective reality.

Since subjectivity seems to rule all micro-worlds as well as the macro-world constructs of each, can we truly know anyone or anything objectively?  If so, in the lyrics popularized by the band Chicago, “does anyone really know what time it is?”

And, do you see the baby in the picture atop this article? 

The ultimate responsibility for educating children has always fallen to their parents, and this is true even in a country in which the average per pupil cost of a public education approaches $10,000.  Educators, burdened by institutional or school district policies and government regulations, often do not have the time to ensure that their entire classes of 15, 20, or more students are adequately versed in primary subject and skill areas including mathematics and language arts.  And, these skills form the foundation for students’ future academic and career achievements.

The end result is that the predominant environment for learning by students at all levels, from grade school to college, is most often their residences.  And, when children are overburdened with homework, so are their parents.  If you are the parent of a school-aged child, you have experienced that of which I write.  Parents today not only earn livings and maintain households, but also must tutor their children and assist them in completing mountains of homework!

What if you just do not have the time to devote?  Or, suppose that you yourself cannot solve math problems or calculus problems.  Perhaps, your days of factoring polynomials have long since passed, and you don’t even remember what a polynomial is.

There is hope and help.  TutorVista, the world’s leading online tutoring company, offers an array of free and paid tutoring services for students in grades K-12 as well as college.  Visit their website and check out their free homework help and free math help.  Or, take advantage of their free demo for first time users where you can avail yourself of their comprehensive services across all subject areas for free.

With their affordable monthly pricing of just $99.99 for all subject areas and 24×7 accessibility, TutorVista should become your destination of choice for your child’s math homework help and other online educational assistance, as well as a needed respite from concerns about homework. 

I once winged off to new locales and cruised the open seas with utter abandon.  With a tightening economy and a world besieged by terrorists, I no longer do that.  Cheaper airfares equate to inconveniences, and as I no longer feel safe on a cruise ship, I now stick closer to home when vacationing.  But, thriving on the exploration of new places, my options have become limited.  That’s why I was thrilled to find the Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach via http://avistaresort.com.

I relish a relaxing swim in warm, clean waters, a good long, soul-calming sail, and a great read on the beach, with the rustling sea grass and lapping waves as background music.  But I also require a bit more stimulation and sophistication.   When I decided to check out resorts in Myrtle Beach, therefore, I was happy to find that the Avista offers modern, well-equipped two and three bedroom condos, each of them spacious and featuring balconies on which I can relax and watch the sun set — or rise.  But if I require the amenities provided by fine hotels, Avista also has porter service, a 24/7 front desk, pools, hot tubs, lazy rivers, and a full service, on-site restaurant.

A fitness center on the premises can help me work off those few extra pounds I’ll put on when I stroll a few blocks away to explore the numerous restaurants as well as the terrific shopping.  Museums, natural and manmade parks, and historical sites also abound in this lovely part of our country.  With the region also home to myriad world-class golf courses, I can intersperse my sea time with tee time on the gentle, rolling emerald greens, some with views of the gorgeous ocean.  Rates at Avista are highly competitive, and discounts are available under certain conditions.  I’m truly looking forward to a great time at this Myrtle Beach hotel! 

For centuries, children have enjoyed blowing bubbles.  There is something enthralling in creating or witnessing a bubble as it grows, seemingly blissfully floats in the air, and ultimately pops.  Sometimes, the anticipation of a bubble popping becomes too much for us, and we puncture it, ending its existence before its natural life span has run.  Bubbles connote fun and frivolity; that is, if the bubbles of which you think are the type formed of a soapy liquid.

Bubbles, however, can also be very serious matters – evaporating fortunes and ruining lives.  These more sober bubbles are economic and, in some cases, slimy rather than soapy in nature.  An economic or market bubble occurs when speculation drives up the price of an asset far beyond its underlying value.  Ultimately, the bubble bursts, and the value of that asset – whether a stock, bond, commodity, or other asset class – plummets.  In economic bubbles, those with insider information frequently enrich themselves and divest, leaving the losses to be suffered by those less privileged.

Since the late ‘90’s, however, we have all learned a good deal about bursting bubbles.  In the early days of the new millennium, the values of many of the so-called public “dot-com” companies plunged, some losing virtually all of their value.  On March 10, 2000, the technology-laden NASDAQ Composite Index peaked at 5132.52 (intra-day).  Just over two years later, it had plummeted to less than 20% of its peak value.  In the eight intervening years, the Index has never even reached 3000.00.  More recently, we have witnessed a plunge in real estate values as real estate bubbles have burst in communities throughout the United States.

Many people presume that economic bubbles are a recent phenomenon; perhaps, dating back to the U.S. stock market crash of 1929.  These people would no doubt be surprised to learn that bursting economic bubbles are at least centuries old and, likely, much older.  In one of the earliest recorded cases, an English enterprise, The South Sea Trading Company, gained exclusive trading rights with Spanish possessions in South America.  These rights, however, presupposed a successful conclusion to the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and, in conjunction with this effort, South Sea Trading acquired a good deal of English government debt incurred as a result of the conflict, with debt converted into shares of the then fledgling company.

The debt acquired provided the company a revenue source via annuity from the government of England.  Additionally, close relations between the company and various government officials resulted in the company’s ability to establish and expand its price per share beyond the value of debt acquired.  By 1719, South Sea had acquired more government debt and began a concerted public relations campaign touting its prospective income from trading activities with South America.  During 1720, a speculative buying frenzy catapulted share prices from just over 100 pounds in January to more than 1,000 pounds in July.  Share prices dropped precipitously that autumn when the “South Sea bubble” burst, never to rebound to the absurdly high levels of the summer months.  At the time of the crash, many of the shareholders were peasants and common people who had risked what little funds they had saved on the chance at great wealth.

The period around 1720 in England, like the 1920’s and 1990’s in the U.S., was a period of wild stock speculation.  In addition to South Sea Trading, countless other enterprises sought public capitalization, and like many of the dot-coms, took advantage of the ignorance of investors who, driven by greed and rising share prices, knew little or nothing about the companies in which they invested.  Among the hot technologies seeking funding at that time was alchemy, with many such companies claiming the ability to change lead into gold or to produce an elixir that indefinitely extended life.  Another company brazenly sought funding as a secret enterprise of “great advantage” to its investors.

There are many naive or stupid people who can easily become victims of fraud – witness the growth of phishing and other scams on the Internet.  Whether based upon fraud or simply erroneous information, economic bubbles are fed by the investment of both knowledgeable and ignorant investors.  When they burst, however, those left holding the bag are disproportionately those least able to bear the loss.

In investing, great rewards come only to those who bear great risks or possess uncommon knowledge – either in the form of unique insights or inside information.  Lacking such resources or knowledge, one should take a page from childhood and delight in the simple pleasure of witnessing the buoyant and bursting bubbles.

Admit it, you’re a shopaholic!  So, as they say, “if you have the name, why not play the game.”  And, for those of you who may have been sleeping or in a coma for the last couple of decades, the Internet is the destination of choice for the savvy shopaholic.  While retail stores offer you limited selection and are often out-of-stock on the most popular merchandise, the Internet can provide virtually unlimited quantities and product information.

But, and this is the tricky part, how and where do you find these products?  You could, of course, visit the individual websites of stores that you frequent.  If you were interested in purchasing cookware, you might choose to visit the website of a home accessories retailer. Or, you might search for a particular product category on your favorite search engine.  For the wine lover, a Google search for wine glasses might provide you information and potential sites from which to purchase any of the wine glass varieties.  Another option would be to check out any of tens of thousands of shopping sites on the Internet.  Going to any of the sites focused on products for your home might provide you a number of coffee makers, blenders, toaster ovens, or steamers from which to choose.

Yet – and if you are a true shopaholic, you are probably already aware – there is a better way:  ShopWiki!  ShopWiki.com is an encyclopedic website that brings the entire universe of products right into your home or office.  Unlike other shopping sites that only provide products from stores that have paid for placement on their websites, ShopWiki crawls the Internet like Google and provides the shopper with complete information on every product from every online store.  So, if you are seeking kitchen and dining products, anything from large and small appliances to cookware, cooking tools, and tableware, you’ll find every available product, as well as helpful information and an array of buyer resources on ShopWiki.

Shopaholics, you have found your own personal, online nirvana! 

In thumbing through the Orthodox English Dictionary the other day in search of a word, I came upon the definition for another word, “racism:”

a.)  the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race , especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races

b.)  prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on such a belief:  a programme to combat racism.

The phrase “to combat racism” led me to investigate the term further.  According to my research, the usage of the word “racism” as we have come to know it, can be traced back to descriptions of Lawrence Dennis, an American who had aligned himself with the Fascist movement. He is also the author of the book, The Coming American Fascism.  Written in 1936, it portended the rise of Fascism in this nation.

If your history is a bit rusty, The Fascists were those who embraced Hitler’s philosophy of racial superiority, and who put those beliefs into practice in order to suppress and ultimately, extinguish certain races deemed “inferior.”  While the Jewish race figured most prominently on this list, and while 6 million Jewish people suffered horribly and died at the hands of Hitler and his twisted followers, it is a lesser-known fact — and a fact nonetheless — that another 3 million Italians Greeks were also tortured and murdered during Hitler’s reign of terror. 

However, the creation of the word “racist” was originally accredited to Magnus Hirschfeld (1868-1935), who’d coined it with a completely different meaning.  A German scientist of Jewish heritage, his primary field became known as Sexology (the study of sexual behavior).  Other groundbreaking researchers and behaviorists in this field were Havelock Ellis of England and Alfred Kinsey of the United States.  While their studies were broad-based, encompassing mainstream society, Hirschfield’s research focused upon homosexuality and sexual liberation: topics that comprised the meat of his books and five films.

Hirschfield’s polemic states that the definition of a racist is he or she who makes “a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.”  Created to indicate those who were intolerant toward homosexuals and others seeking sexual liberation, and in a broader sense, those who have come to be known as The Far Right, the word was never intended to specifically label individuals who discriminate against others based upon skin color, cultural background, or religious affiliation.  Hirschfield envisioned a freer society than the one that existed in his time; he wished to see a kind of global communism, or Pan-Humanism, established. Because of his convictions, the term “racist” may have evolved, or perhaps devolved, to indicate an entire society disposed toward sexual repression (i.e., more traditional forms of sexual behavior).

“Racism” as we have come to understand that word, is actually an invention of The Left.  With the word now loaded like a pair of dice, supporters of white racial consciousness cannot use it without painting themselves narrow-minded and repressive.  Anyone who uses the term in a self-descriptive manner — from the perspective of Hirschfield and not those who broadened the term — now finds himself in a political quagmire.  He has, in effect, allowed himself to be maneuvered onto his opponent’s ground and thus, has lost his debate.  Gee.  And here I thought this was a democratic society that gave full support to the freedom of speech!

Whether your business is of the traditional brick and mortar variety or is one of the growing numbers of enterprises who transact business entirely online, chances are good that web hosting is a major area of concern as you seek to take your business to the next level.  And today, business owners and managers are faced with an ever-expanding array of potential service providers.  With a simple Google search query for “web hosting service providers” yielding more than 10 million results, choosing a provider can be mind-boggling.

In selecting a web host for your business, you should consider factors including the comparative costs, reliability, reputation, and infrastructure offered by the respective web hosting companies.  You should make certain that the web host you select provides all of the features you currently need.  But, of equal and perhaps greater importance is the capacity of the web host to meet your future business needs.  As your business grows, you will most certainly require a larger web space, greater bandwidth, advanced technology, and comprehensive support.

Superb Internet Corp. has been fulfilling the web hosting needs of businesses from mom-and-pop enterprises to large corporations since 1996.  If your business requires reliable shared web hosting services at an affordable price, Superb Internet has hosting plans beginning at just $4.99 monthly.  For those requiring dedicated hosting services, Superb offers a variety of flexible managed hosting plans offering your business a complete menu of proactive monitoring, security, backup, load balancing, and other advanced services.  Additionally, the company offers colocation services, the perfect solution for many of today’s small to medium-sized businesses desiring the benefits of a full-fledged IT facility without the additional costs.

Most importantly, Superb Internet delivers all of these services from its three state-of-the-art, fully-redundant, fault-tolerant data centers guaranteeing 100% uptime and with the superior, award-winning 24 x 7 x 365 technical support and personalized, attentive service for which it has become renowned. 

Nothing brings warmth and personality to a home like living plants, flowers, and herbs.  And for businesses wishing to attract new customers via a professional, personable image, the proper selection of plants, flowers, and shrubs are perfect.  But it’s not the just the fauna; it’s the way it is presented.   Home improvement stores and garden centers offer a limited range of containers that can’t provide you with the choices you need to personalize and enhance the look of your home or office.  Where, then, are you to turn if you’re seeking distinctive decorative planters in a wide range of materials, colors, sizes, and shapes?  Why, to http://www.eplanters.com, of course!

A perusal of their attractive website provides photographs of their extensive product line.  Choices among planters encompass garden planters, outdoor planters, and window box planters.  Solidly crafted of wood, vinyl, plastic, ceramic, aluminum, copper, concrete, steel, wrought iron, and more, they include high end planters and span the gamut of shapes, sizes, and colors defined by your vision, imagination, and green thumb.

Decorative planters blend harmoniously into your surroundings or serve as attractive accents.  Positioned appropriately, they can serve as verdant borders, bursting with fauna of vibrant or soothing colors and scents, and creating oases of privacy and beauty in your patio, waiting room, or other areas throughout your home or office. They accommodate small trees and shrubs of varying widths and heights, as well as annuals, perennials, and exotics, depending upon your tastes and environment.

Many of the decorative planters are exclusive to http://www.eplanters.com.  And, with the addition of their products, your home or office can be truly unique.  And, you can shop easily and with confidence, knowing that the company stands behind it’s products, services, and extremely competitive pricing.  So, if you are looking for a planter, peruse the offerings on http://www.eplanters.com. 

No less than five times during the past thirteen months, I have had packages left at my door that were actually addressed to my neighbors.  Large and extremely heavy, with the address labels on the undersides, I dragged three of these into our foyer, assuming that we had ordered them.  The same well-known, nationwide carrier dumped each of the five erroneous deliveries on my doorstep.  The first time I attempted to have the company reroute the packages to the proper recipients, it took me six phone calls just to connect with someone in authority.  A supervisor, who’d spoken to the driver, told me emphatically that my address did not exist!  I quipped, “Since I’m standing at that address and paying the mortgage on it, it sure as heck does exist!” Four more times was this dim-witted, time-wasting scenario repeated.  Had I but known, these frustrations might have been easily avoided if I’d simply purchased an address plaque from http://www.justadressplaques.com.

Both decorative and functional, the address plaques offered by this quality-oriented company come in a wide array of styles and colors amenable to a broad range of tastes.  Home address plaques and wall address plaques display the addresses of residences and businesses, make locating the address a breeze, and lending a distinctive note to the property.  And, beautifully-crafted Whitehall address plaques have been gracing homes of distinction for more than 60 years.

In addition to the traditional home address plaques and wall address plaques, http://www.justadressplaques.com also offers address posts.  Placed at the entrance to one’s property, they proclaim the address with panache.  When beautifying your home or publicizing your business, your choice of address plaques and numbers says a lot about you.  It says that you take pride in your home; it projects a positive, professional image of your company.  Additionally, for a business, display of an address sign provides an invitation to prospective clients and visitors.  Address signs, like address plaques are available in an array of styles and finishes.

Ordering online is simple, and the prices are extremely competitive.   The customer service team at http://www.justadressplaques.com is friendly and knowledgeable.  They will work closely with you to select or design a layout that best suits your needs for address plaques and numbers.

September is just around the corner.  Falling leaves will herald Halloween.  Turkeys, cranberry sauce, and eggnog will follow the year’s spookiest night, as will lots of catalog shopping, with packages shipped to and fro.  I intend to thoroughly enjoy the holidays this year.  A beautiful address plaque from http://www.justadressplaques.com is the perfect way to welcome my guests and circumvent another round of incorrectly delivered packages! 

Do you remember the fable, “The Princess and the Pea”?  To refresh your memory, our heroine spent an uncomfortable night tossing and turning because, to make a long story short, she didn’t have the proper accommodations.  Whenever I venture into previously unexplored vacation territory, I’m always afraid that I’m going to wind up like that princess, ruining not just a single night, but my entire, much-needed getaway.  Planning my first trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, my fears vanished when I found http://www.myrtlebeachseasideresorts.com.

This comprehensive, easy to navigate website spelled everything out very clearly, providing me with a virtual roadmap of the attractions and accommodations of Myrtle Beach, including golf, for which the area is well known.  The look and layout of www.myrtlebeachseasideresorts.com almost made me feel as if I were already at the shore.  Paging through the site, I found accommodations designed for every preference, ranging from hotels to luxury resorts to vacations rentals, including the newly constructed Seaside, which boasts one, two, and three bedroom condos.  A click of the mouse beneath each photograph brought me to a page with details about the accommodations, including availability, pricing, accouterments, and a means of booking online.

As I was determined to try my hand at golf, I appreciated the fact that golf packages were available.  Booking golf packages Myrtle Beach in advance, via the website, will give me more time to enjoy myself on the links — or in my case, maybe the sand traps!  The site is also rich with easily-digestible information concerning the beautiful Myrtle Beach area: amusement parks, a State park, museums for young and old, and for shopaholics, the lowdown on options spanning mega-malls to unique little boutiques.  If you’re considering getting away from it all at Myrtle Beach, I would highly recommend that you check out www.myrtlebeachseasideresorts.com to make your life easier and your vacation enjoyable!