Commze

Goa is considered by many to be the holiday capital of South Asia. The smallest of India’s states, Goa is a former colony of Portugual located on the west coast of the subcontinent. It’s many beaches and harbors and a hot and humid climate make it an ideal tourist destination. However, there is more to enjoy in Goa than sun and sand.

There are numerous forts, churches, and temples that shine as examples of Goas rich and varied history. Here the Hindu face of India is accompanied by the Catholicism of Portugal and residents are just as likely to speak Portuguese and English as the official language of Konkani.

The capital city of Panaji is considered the most likeable of the Indian capitals while the city of Margao is a historic destination reflecting the Portuguese influence on the state. Goa is actually home to more villages than cities, offering a more traditional and relaxing environment to explore.

Visitors can frequent the many markets, restaurants, and clubs throughout the state while staying in one of the five star hotels in Goa. If luxury isn’t your cup of tea, there are a variety of other accomodations available. Just be sure to find something that is close to the attractions, shopping, and famous Goan cuisine that make this coastal state such a hotspot.

My daughter goes to school year-round.  This makes it more difficult for us to plan long family vacations, but means I have more time to myself since I telecommute most of the time.  The point of this post is that while other schools are just starting up, she is right in the middle of a geography unit in her social studies class.  She came home last week all excited about the stuff she is learning.  She even brought home a map that the teacher had them fill out showing all the counties and major cities in our state.

I’m really not sure when geography became synonymous with cartography, but apparently that is what they are teaching school kids these days. She doesn’t seem to be learning anything about climate, topography, crops, industry, or the major exports of China like I learned in my geography classes.  She just spends hours staring at her new map of the United States and a bunch of Mexico maps that her mother had left over from a previous job assignment.  I asked her what she was looking at and she said she just loves to see where roads intersect and how many different ways there are to go between the same two places.

I guess it’s a start.  Maybe her curiosity will grow to more than just following lines and identifying rivers. Maybe she’ll start asking questions about the people, animals, and crops in the various places she’s investigating.  Then she’ll really be learning geography.

Recently, I was surprised to learn that in general tires are an important part of the fuel efficiency of your car. By keeping tires properly inflated, you can help improve your car’s gas mileage.  Look for gas stations around town that offer free air for tires – that can really help stretch the value of the dollar at the pump.

With gasoline prices at alarming peaks, I’m doing everything I can to maintain my car to improve gas mileage. For the most part, things like replacing the air filters are important for keeping the engine in good condition – so it keeps the car running well, in addition to improving how many miles I can travel per gallon.

Since checking the tire pressure regularly, I’ve noticed that two of my tires have to be inflated much more than the others. Neither one looks like a flat tire, but it’s likely that they are suffering from a slow leak somewhere. So, I’ve started checking out wheel and tire packages to see if I can find good deals on replacements. The search unearthed some really interesting products – especially these Toyo tires. With treads like that, you have to wonder what kind of vehicle would sport them.

Today, BusinessWeek brought to our attention the devaluation of The New York Times Company. Just last year, the paper and its respected firm were worth double what stock prices show today. It isn’t just the respected New York Times that suffers. All newspaper stocks have not been favorably valued for quite some time. According to the article, the attributed culprit is a decrease in advertising revenue. During the dot com boom, traditional media companies were hit hard. Today, the Times has transitioned itself into the Internet era by establishing its online presence and garnering substantial website traffic. Adapting to the current technology has been a step in the right direction, but media companies throughout the industry are still struggling. It will be interesting to see how the Times Co. will adjust to this stressed economy and bring back the value associated with its revered reputation.

I am planning to go backpacking in Europe this summer as a graduation present to myself. I’ve got my sleeping bag, backpack, some money and several maps of the countries I want to visit. I have several France maps, an England map and a couple of different maps of Spain.

I cannot wait to see the Eiffel Tower and the city of love in the evening. I think I will be a traveling journal with me to write down my thoughts and experiences. I’m sure I’ll be able to find a coffee shop everywhere I go.

I’m also looking forward to seeing Buckingham Palace and tanning on the beaches of Spain. Even if I can only stay in each country for a couple of weeks, I think I’ll learn a lot more myself versus just visiting Europe for two weeks.

I love the summertime. My favorite part about the entire season is tennis. I love everything from playing in the sun to comparing this year’s Wimbledon scores to last year’s. In fact, if I can’t watch a specific set then I have to catch the Wimbledon highlights in the evening.

I like to play and think about being one of the star athletes and that I’m going for the third in the Grand Slam season. So few in history have acquired a Grand Slam in one season and I wish I was one of them. I love Wimbledon, especially because it’s played on a grass court.

I wonder if the queen of England ever watches. You do find celebrities there. Tiger Woods is friends with Federer, the two time runner up. I wonder what other celebrities will be there.

Stocks fell sharply worldwide Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government’s stimulus plan to prevent a recession.U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but were primed to open Tuesday’s session with steep declines, according to futures trading.

To read more about this story, click here.

Whether its brokers, investing companies, or online stock picking services you know the market is tremendously sagging. And seemingly each day there are more bad signs for investors and the market.

Like a fatigued swimmer flailing for shore, investors are just hoping to find the bottom. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has declined nearly 6% over the past three trading sessions, while the Dow Jones industrials are off 5% and the Nasdaq just over 5%. The Dow, down more than 8% for 2008, is at its lowest level since March, 2007, while the S&P 500, off 9% for the year, has hit a 15-month low.

To read more about this story, click here. More and more signs keep popping up indicating a recession; not that the economy is heading for one, but that we’re already in the midst of one.

As social media has grown in popularity, both for recreational and business use, many investors, like Arthur Trueger, are interested in the outlook of the this new web technology.  Here are some proposed trends for the upcoming year.

1.   Consumers will continue to rely on social media platforms to research products and service.

2.   The growth in data and content created by the social media will also bring change to the traditional search models.

3.   Likewise traditional models for businesses to research their consumers will fundamentally change.

4.   Customer feedback and the social network will overtake price, and in some cases brand as a major factor in online purchase decisions

5.   The data generated from Web 2.0 will be increasingly important to all organisations, not just to web based businesses

To see what the other five trends are click here.

Here are 10 tips that can help any person become more responsible at managing their finances.

1.   Get paid what your worth, and spend less than you earn – Make sure you know what your job is worth in the marketplace, by conducting an evaluation of your skills, productivity, job tasks, contribution to the company, and the going rate, both inside and outside the company, for what you do.

2.    Stick to a budget – You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

3.    Pay off credit card debt – Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially.

4.    Contribute to a retirement plan – Ask your employer if they have a 401(k) plan (or similar plan), and sign up today. If you’re already contributing, try to increase your contribution. If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, consider an IRA.

5.   Have a savings plan -  Resolve to set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of your salary for savings BEFORE you start paying your bills. Better yet, have money automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.

To read the remaining 5 tips, click here.