Lots of fat, lots of sodium, and lots of calories in general. But don’t let this infographic push you away from the joy of burgers. There are plenty of healthier options when it comes to making burgers. Buying lean meat from the store is a good starting point, then add fresh veggies and avocado to pack in some vitamins and antioxidants......as Usual.........MK
It is a historic and monumental debate, I mean argument, between couples. The bathroom that is. What belongs in it, what goes where, and when. We created this infographic to help explain the differences in bathroom etiquette between the sexes. This Infographic is trying to explain the differences in bathroom etiquette between men and women. If you like this infographic, please click the “Like” button, Tweet it and share it with your friends 
...as Usual......MK
Social & Demographic Trends
Women Call the Shots at Home; Public Mixed on Gender Roles in Jobs
Gender and Power
by Rich Morin and D'Vera Cohn, Pew Research Center
September 25, 2008They say it's a man's world. But in the typical American family, it's the woman who wears the pantsuit.
To explore decision-making in the typical American home, a Pew Research Center survey asked men and women living in couples which one generally makes the decisions in four familiar areas of domestic life. Who decides what you do together on the weekend? Who manages the household finances? Who makes the decisions on big purchases for the home? And who most often decides what to watch on television?
The survey finds that in 43% of all couples it's the woman who makes decisions in more areas than the man. By contrast, men make more of the decisions in only about a quarter (26%) of all couples. And about three-in-ten couples (31%) split decision-making responsibilities equally.
On a different topic related to gender and power, the survey asked whether people are more comfortable dealing with a man or with a woman in a variety of positions of authority - doctor, banker, lawyer, police officer, airline pilot, school teacher and surgeon.
Public attitudes are mixed. Among respondents who have a preference, men are favored in some roles (airline pilot, surgeon, police officer, lawyer); women in others (elementary school teacher, banker); and the public is evenly divided about whether its family doctor should be a man or a woman. Notably, however, for all seven of these positions, a sizable share of the public says it has no gender preference - ranging from the 33% who say this about teachers to the 54% who say it about surgeons.
Taken together, these results complement earlier findings from a wide-ranging Pew survey that explored public attitudes toward men and women as political leaders1 and examined the roles that a candidate's gender and parenthood status play in voters' decisions.2
Who's the Decider at Home?
The questions about who calls the shots in different realms of domestic life were asked of 1,260 respondents who were married or living as a couple. For each question, respondents were asked if they or their partner generally has the final say in decision-making. They were not explicitly asked whether they generally share decisions - though this response was recorded if it was volunteered. And it proved to be a very common response. About half of all respondents said that they jointly decide or that there's no fixed pattern when it comes to decisions about shared weekend activities and buying big things for the home. About four-in-ten said the same about deciding what to watch on television, and about one-in-three said the same about managing the household finances.
Only one partner - the respondent - was interviewed; his or her answer was accepted as an accurate characterization of that couple's decision-making. Responses were coded to indicate whether the man or the woman in the respondent's couple makes most of the decisions, or whether the decisions are shared. For example, if a female respondent answered that she was mostly responsible for deciding on weekend plans, she was coded as being part of a couple in which the woman makes most of these decisions. If she said her partner mostly chooses what they would do, she was coded as being in a couple in which the man has the most say.
The responses to the four questions were then analyzed together to determine whether, on balance, the man or the woman in the respondent's couple made the decisions in more areas, or whether both partners played an equal role.3
Significantly, in a large plurality of couples - 43% - men don't have the final say in any of the four areas tested. These men either share decision-making with their partners or defer to them. There are significantly fewer couples - 33% - in which the woman does not take the lead in any of the four areas tested. Also, more women (15%) than men (9%) are the lead decision-makers in three or more of the areas tested.
Generally, male and female survey respondents are in broad agreement about which gender makes most of the decisions in these realms of domestic life. The lone exception has to do with managing household finances. By a ratio of nearly two-to-one, women say that they (45%) rather than their partner (23%) manage the money in the household. Men see things differently. Some 37% say they manage the money, while just 30% report that their partner mostly handles the household finances.
The survey finds that when it comes to decision-making and consensus-building at home, age matters. Men and women 65 or older are twice as likely as those under the age of 30 to say they and their partner share equally in making family decisions. But while age makes a difference, income doesn't - at least not so much. In dual-income couples, it is the woman who has more say, regardless of whether she earns more or less than her partner.
A total of 2,250 adults were interviewed by telephone for this nationally representative survey, including 1,260 who were married or living with a partner. Margin of sampling error for the results based on the subsample of those who were in couples is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Margin of sampling error for the overall results is plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
Here's a rundown of the specific survey questions and responses:
Shared Weekend Activities
What are we doing this weekend, honey? For many couples, neither partner has the final word on shared weekend plans. Nearly half (46%) of all couples make this type of decision together, and in another 6% of couples, neither partner is the regular decision maker.
But among those couples in which one partner consistently takes the lead, it's the woman and not the man who most often makes the call on weekend activities (28% vs. 16%).
Who Makes the Big Household Purchases?
A large plurality of couples (46%) jointly make decisions about buying major items for the home. But again, in families in which one person makes most of these decisions, it's the woman and not the man who has the last word when purchasing big-ticket items for the home (30% vs. 19%).
The Battle of the Budget
While large proportions of couples make major home purchases and weekend plans together, other types of decisions are most often made by one partner. For example, fully two-thirds of all couples say one partner or the other mostly manages the household finances - but, in the agggregate, men and women disagree about which partner takes the lead.
Overall, women are somewhat more likely than men to manage household finances (38% vs 30%). Fewer than three-in-ten couples (28%) equally share responsibility for making family financial decisions, the smallest percentage responding this way among the four areas tested.
However, comparing how men and women answer this question suggests that there is a good bit of gender disagreement over who ultimately controls the family's purse strings. By nearly 2-1, women say they and not their husbands control the family pursestrings (45% vs. 23%). But a narrow plurality of men say they, not their wives, are managing the family finances (37% vs. 30%).
On the other three questions, the sexes largely agree who has the ultimate say. By about 2-1, women say they and not their partner decide how the couple will spend weekend time together (30% vs.14%) and decide on major home purchases (33% vs. 17%). In both cases, but by narrower margins, men agree their wives or partners usually make these decisions.
Who Controls the TV Remote?
While husbands and wives may differ over who controls the family checkbook, there's not much dispute over who controls the television remote control. The consensus from all quarters: not me. About a quarter of all husbands and wives say they make decisions together and another one-in-nine say there's no consistent pattern to the spousal decisions on this front. Women say they are about as likely to decide what to watch on television (26%) as their spouses (28%). Men are slightly more likely to say their spouse decides (30%) than say they control the remote (24%).
Factoring the respondent's gender into the analysis produces a similar overall result. In 27% of all couples, it's the woman who decides what to watch on TV. The man decides in 26% of couples, and in about a quarter of all homes, what to watch is decided together.
One complicating factor: Perhaps there's relative peace in front of the TV because husbands and wives are simply watching different televisions, or watching their favorite shows alone at different times.
Nielsen Media Research reported in 2006 that there were more televisions than people in the average American home. This survey did not ask how many working televisions respondents had in their homes, or whether couples generally watched TV together or at different times, leaving open the possibility that when it comes to controlling the remote, "separate but equal" may help keep the peace in some American homes.
Shared Decision-Making
Many couples make some family decisions together but very few make all decisions together. When it comes to deciding on shared weekend activities, nearly half (46%) of men and women say they make the decision jointly with their spouses. But in other areas, shared decision-making is relatively rare. For example, only 28% of all couples say they share responsibility for managing household finances.
Overall, only 8% of couples say they make the decisions together in each of the four areas tested in the poll. Another 17% say they make joint decisions in three of the four. Conversely, a 54% majority say they make joint decisions in just one (20%) or none (34%) of the aspects of family life. It is possible that the share of "we decide together" responses would have been greater if this option was explicitly presented in the question. It was not. Rather, the question was worded to ask whether the respondent or his/her partner generally made decisions. In order for a respondent to be recorded as saying decisions are shared, that respondent had to volunteer this answer.
With one notable exception, patterns of decision-making by couples vary little among most demographic groups. The exception has to do with age: Older couples are significantly more likely than younger couples to make decisions together, the survey finds. More than a third of all adults 65 or older say they make most of the decisions with their spouses in at least three of the four areas tested - double the proportion of the joint decision-makers among couples younger than 30. Conversely, fully four-in-ten young adults who are married or living together say they do not make decisions together, with the majority saying they make most of the decisions themselves.
Money and Power in the Home
Two-thirds of all husbands in dual-income families say they make more money than their wives, and wives generally concur in this assessment. But earning more money doesn't necessarily mean making more decisions at home, at least for men. And for women, earning less doesn't always mean making fewer decisions.
By a ratio of better than two-to-one, women make most of the household decisions (46% vs. 19%) in couples in which the woman earns more than the man.
Among couples in which the man earns more than his female partner, women still are more likely to make the decisions in more areas, but by a narrower margin (42% vs. 30%).
Gender Roles in Positions of Authority
While many Americans say it makes no difference to them whether they deal with a man or woman in a range of high-profile positions of authority, the survey finds that they retain strong traditional gender preferences in a few positions, including elementary school teacher and police officer. The other positions tested were banker, surgeon, lawyer, airline pilot and family doctor. Here is a rundown of the public's responses, based on interviews with the full sample of 2,250 adults.
Traditional roles
Most of the nation's elementary school teachers are female, most police officers are male, and Americans generally prefer it that way. This attitude is especially prevalent when it comes to elementary school teachers; majorities of both genders and all race and age groups say they would rather deal with a woman than a man in that role.
Among Americans of different education levels, college graduates are the only group in which there is not a majority preference for female teachers; they split their opinions evenly between female and no preference.
Asked about the preferred gender for police officer, Americans give a plurality of votes- 46%- to males. Although men are slightly more likely than women to prefer female teachers, there is no difference between the genders in their preference for policemen.
But Americans 65 years old or older are more inclined than younger adults to prefer a male policeman - 55% do, which is at least eight percentage points more than is the case with any younger age group.
Although no demographic group prefers a female police officer, one in four black or Hispanic Americans say they would rather deal with a policewoman, compared with 12% of whites.
Surgeons and Airline Pilots
Surgeons and airline pilots are traditionally male occupations that remain heavily male, but half or more of Americans say it makes no difference to them whether a man or woman holds those jobs.
Majorities of men (57%) and women (52%) say they have no preference for a male or female surgeon. A third of men (32%) and women (34%) say they prefer a man, and the rest prefer a woman. Older people are most likely to prefer a male surgeon. Blacks, and to a lesser extent Hispanics, are more likely than whites to prefer a male surgeon.
When it comes to airline pilots, men (53%) are somewhat more likely than women (47%) to say they have no preference. Men (38%) are less likely than women (44%) to prefer a male pilot. Hispanics (53%) and blacks (49%) are more likely than whites (38%) to prefer that their pilot be male. Older Americans also are more likely to prefer a male pilot, women more so than men.
Family doctor
Gender differences play a role in preferences for a male or female family doctor, a traditionally male field that has been attracting growing numbers of females. Men are most likely to express no preference (46%), but a notable share prefers a male doctor (35%). Women split their votes between no preference (38%) and a female doctor (39%).
Age also plays a role: Older Americans are more likely to prefer a man, while younger ones are more likely to prefer a woman.
Banker and Lawyer
The financial services and legal professions also are traditionally male, but increasingly populated by women. About half of Americans (48%) say they have no preference between a male or female banker or lawyer. This is especially true of whites, college-educated Americans and high-income respondents. People who live in the West also are most likely than Americans in other regions to have no preference for a male or female banker or lawyer.
After "no preference," though, Americans' second choice for their banker would be a woman (36%), which is true for both male and female respondents. Younger people are more evenly split between expressing no preference and favoring a woman. Older people are somewhat more likely to prefer a man to a woman.
Some groups are more likely to prefer a woman to a man or to the no-preference option. They include blacks and Hispanics (47% of each favors a woman banker), as well as Americans who have not graduated high school or who are in the lowest income group. Notably, even Americans who say they believe women should return to their traditional roles say they prefer a woman (37%) to a man (23%) for their banker.
As for their lawyer, men (51%) are slightly more likely than women (46%) to express no preference. Men (28%) and women (30%) are about equally likely to prefer a male lawyer. Women (23%) are somewhat more likely than men (18%) to prefer a female lawyer.
There are racial differences in lawyer preference. Most whites (54%) say gender doesn't matter. Hispanics and blacks are more likely than whites to split their votes among men, women or no preference. A narrow majority of middle-aged Americans (30-49 and 50-64) say they have no preference, compared with four-in-ten of younger or older Americans. Younger and older Americans cast more of their votes for male lawyers than do middle-aged Americans.
Sub-Group Preferences
In general, older Americans are most likely to prefer men in traditionally male jobs. Blacks and Hispanics are more likely than whites to favor men in some traditionally male jobs, but tilt toward women in others. College graduates are more likely than less-educated Americans to express no job preference for either gender.
There's very little difference between male and female survey respondents over which gender they would rather deal with in each profession tested. The lone exception to this pattern is the family doctor. Here, gender solidarity prevails. Female respondents express a preference for a woman doctor by a ratio of nearly two-to-one, while male respondents say they would prefer to deal with a male family doctor by a ratio of about two-to-one.
Find the methodology and topline questionaire at pewsocialtrends.org.
Notes
1 Men or Women: Who's the Better Leader?. Pew Research Center, August 25, 2008.
2 Revisiting the Mommy Wars: Politics, Gender and Parenthood. Pew Research Center, September 15, 2008.
3 Determining whether the man or the woman in a couple has the advantage was determined by subtracting the total number of areas in which the woman is the lead decision-maker from the number of areas in which the man makes most of the decisions. So if the respondent, for example, indicates that the man makes most of the decisions in two areas and the woman generally has final say in one area, the respondent's couple is coded as one in which the man makes one more decision than the woman. Couples in which the respondent indicates that the man makes most of the decisions in two areas but the woman makes the decisions in the other two are coded as equally dividing decision making, as each partner has the final say in two areas. Couples in which both partners have equal say in making all four decisions are also coded this way.
Scientists decoding the human genome have discovered that just 78 genes separate men from women. But what are they?
It's the Y chromosome which makes men men, and now scientists have a better idea than ever before what makes it up.
But to help them on their way, and in an effort to help everyone understand the differences between the sexes, here are the suggestions of BBC News Online readers about what those 78 genes might be.
Everyone's got their own ideas about it - even if it only involves relative abilities at reading maps and putting down toilet seats.
To get the ideas flowing, the BBC's Jeremy Vine, Jenni Murray, Anna Ford and Stuart Maconie (right) chipped in with their thoughts.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN MEN WOMEN Women understand colour. They seem to know what to wear all the time. Men just think red is nice, pink is nice, so why not have them together?
Jeremy VineWomen have the Oh dear, the toilet paper is on its last sheet; must replace it immediately gene. This is entirely absent in men who have the Oh s..t! Can you pass me a toilet roll, love? gene!
Jenni MurrayMen have no opinions about curtains.
Stuart MaconieOn being told that someone has bought a new car women usually ask what colour it is - men ask what sort is it.
Anna FordWomen have the If you need to be told I am not going to tell you gene
David Bergin, SwitzerlandWomen know instinctively what is dangerous or not recommended for babies in their care. Men, generally speaking, do not.
Sian Lindsey, NetherlandsMen like to have all their stuff (DVDs, CDs, etc) on show to impress their mates. Women like to hide things in cupboards.
Mark Nelson, UKWomen have a built in calendar gene - we remember birthdays, anniversaries and appointments effortlessly.
Linsday, UKAsk a woman in the street how to get somewhere and she will direct via shops. Ask a man and it will be via pubs.
Fred, UKWomen put things on the bottom stair to take up next time she has to go upstairs. Men just step over them until told to pick them up
Karen Kelsey, UKMen appreciate the importance of a 42 inch plasma screen. Women do not.
Jonathan, UKA multi-tasking gene is clearly only owned by women - men can never prepare dinner so that everything is ready at the same time.
Kelly , UKWomen can use sex to get what they want. Men cannot, as sex is what they want.
Eoin Dempsey, IrelandWomen pick up on subtleties and then think about them. Men need things explained IN CAPITAL LETTERS before the message gets through.
Morag, EdinburghMen speak in sentences. Women speak in paragraphs.
Steve Munoz, USAt weddings, women cry then get drunk. Men get drunk, then cry.
Debby, UKFor men, 2am is time for sleep. For women, 2am is time for a discussion about where our relationship is going.
Luke, UKWhen faced with flat-pack furniture, men never read the manual. Yet they spend hours reading manuals for cars or bikes they will never own.
Linda, UKMen can store useless information. Like the top speed of a car they are never going to drive, let alone own.
Rob, UKMen can balance an infinite amount of rubbish in the bin, without noticing it is full.
Yvonne Eccles, EnglandOnly women can understand other women.
Jon LipscombeWomen know when all you want is a glass of wine, nodding sympathy and a good whinge. Men offer a solution.
Wendy, UKWoman have the diary gene. (And no, they do not make your bums look big).
Ben Appleby, UKWomen are missing the parking a car in between two straight white lines in an empty car park gene
Jane, UKIf you told a woman that you had just returned from a trip to the surface of the Moon, she would show her interest by asking who you had gone with.
Howard, UKMen do not even bother to look for something, then ask where it is and hope that it was the woman who put it away
Kate , Isle of ManWhen men want something they ask for it. When women want something they make a point distantly related to the subject and wait for a response.
David Lawson, EnglandWomen have an ability to make men think they are in charge.
Sheila, UKMen need a round of applause for emptying the dishwasher. Women think E on the petrol gauge means enough.
Peter Richmond, CanadaMen use I or me when they should use we or us. Women use we or us when they should use I or me.
Clair, EnglandMen have a gene which makes them blissfully unaware of impending emotional outbursts, but which sometimes backfires resulting in the registering of physical pain.
Gary, UK
Women have the we must name our car gene.
Louise, UKMen refuse to pay more than £5.00 for a hair cut as it is not that important.
Mark TomlinsonMen have the capacity to sleep through most sounds, whether it is a baby crying, dog barking, or doorbell ringing.
Val SoanesMen know that common house spiders are far less dangerous than scorpions.
John S, UK
Women drive on the stretch of road they can see. Men move through the landscape by car.
Anne Taylor, UKWomen enjoy planning a wedding.
Tom Howes, UKMen have an anorak gene, which triggers a lecture on thermo dynamics when asked a simple question requiring a yes or no answer
Deborah, EnglandWomen eat curry if they like it. Men eat curry to prove they can.
Paul Angel, EnglandMen manage to sit in public places with their legs wide open without noticing how startlingly unattractive it is and how they get in the way.
Jane Penrose, UKWomen could never invent weapons that kill, only ones that make you feel really bad and guilty until you surrender
Dan, UKWomen are the only ones with the noticing gene - we notice when something is dirty/nearly empty/out of place and then we bring into play the doing something about it now gene!
Sarah Wilson, UKMen can watch an entire film without having to ask who is that, what does he do?
Alistair, UKWomen know what to do when someone starts to cry. Men tend to shuffle out of the room mumbling something about doing the grouting.
Lucy, UKGirls cannot climb trees. Furthermore, they cannot be in my gang.
Dominic Green, UKMen will do something and not think about the risks involved then be sorry after. Women will think about the risks involved before hand.
Diane McKay, EnglandA man can choose and buy a pair of shoes in 90 seconds over the internet.
Paul, UKMen have the ability to make a la, la, la, not listening face.
Laura Humphreys, EnglandWomen pee together. Men do not acknowledge, let alone speak, to each other when peeing.
Angus, LondonMen have the shed gene, where being locked up in a small wooden structure in quiet contemplation with a collection of garden equipment counts as stimulating entertainment.
Lorraine, UKMen can drive without having to look at themselves in the mirror.
Christian Paterson, FranceMen have a gene which enables them to answer any question, no matter how complex or important, with Mmm.
Rachel, UK
Women make lists upon lists of things for men to do when they know very well we will never do them.
Brian Mac, USWomen do not get turned on at the thought of two men together.
Donna, South Africa
Men CAN get a bus through there!
Bob Ellis,EnglandMen can watch six different channels at the same time and know the name of none of the programmes they claim to be following
Niamh Brown, SingaporeMen can write their names clearly in the snow.
Riccardo, UKWomen can smell old trainers at 100ft, men have to hold them to their nose.
Sally, UKMen start a sentence and...
Cliff Grover, UK
....women finish it for them
Jane Grover, UKMen enjoy publicising their faults on BBC websites; women enjoy publicising men's faults on BBC websites.
Paul, UK
Men have the empathy with computers gene. This means they are more likely to be found fiddling about with one rather than doing something useful.
Sarah Savill, EnglandMen are paid more for doing the same job. :-)
Nigel Harris, UKWomen have the take things personally gene.
Emma, UKWomen keep carrier bags hidden away in a cupboard. They even keep carrier bags within carrier bags.!
Matt, UKWomen parallel process, men parallel park.
Petal, UKMen look at going down the gym as a physical activity, to women it is a social event.
Robert, UKA woman would look at a sexy man and not be noticed. Men just stare.
Isabelle West, UKWomen think that a good place to keep the TV controller is on top of the TV.
Christopher, UKMen have a gene that enables them to maintain a vice like grip on the remote control while reclining on the sofa studying the insides of their eyelids.
Jane, UKWomen can get by with 10 or 20 CDs. Men need 200 plus.
Damien Bove, LeedsWomen know that washing machines have programmes for every kind of fabric, colour and quantity and use them appropriately. Men will put a months supply of laundry through the 40 degree cycle (safest guess), regardless of any other detail.
Janine MacLean, UKWomen order rice and eat men's chips.
Liam, WalesMen will hear you open a beer from three rooms away.
Aileen, ScotlandWomen recall every outfit they have worn for the past two decades. Men cannot remember what they were wearing yesterday without looking on the floor next to the bed.
Tom, London, UKIf a man knows an acquaintance has given birth to a baby, he will remember the sex and name - if you are lucky. If a woman is told about a birth, she will remember names (first and middle), weight, time, how long the labour took and whether medical intervention was required.
Marcia, UKWomen have the ability to brain dump their entire day when they get home - men can only remember that it went OK
Bob Findlay, IrelandMen cannot watch sports and talk to their wives at the same time.
Lisa, Canada
Thanks to everyone who took part.
The Spiral of Life: All living things are connected by evolution.
Charles Darwin became famous for his realization that all species arise from a common ancestor; changing slowly overtime through the process he called natural selection. So, all of Life is connected by evolution. In one of Darwin’s notebooks (see left), we can find the first known depiction of a diagram that translates evolutionary relationships. This type of diagram is still used today, and Darwin’s science is the basis of modern evolutionary biology.
As revolutionary as this picture of life is, limitations emerged over time. As the idea coalesced into a popular icon, misconceptions abound including that evolution is a linear process that culminated in Humans, and then stopped.
The Spiral of Life represents a new understanding of evolution, emphasizing thecommon origin, and the equality of all livings things. The organic shape of the spiral also connotes a sense of Life that is bigger than one animal or cell, as a whole. Life is an exploratory force, constantly modifying itself to adapt to its changing environment. The spiral also indicates time using tree-ring-like rings, and its branches continue past the “today” line, reminding us that evolution is an on-going process.This image also reminds us that as much as life changes to meet the environment life, including humans, change the environment, too.
I was recently working on a real estate development project, and the mountain of paperwork that was produced and wasted was heartbreaking. Every time the plans changed, an oversized set of prints was made — a copy for the owner, the builder, the engineer, and one for the town building department.
We’re talking about 60 sheets of paper that might have garnered four minutes of attention, and were then discarded. This doesn’t take into account the invoices, delivery slips, contracts, faxes, etc.
The point is that using paper is inefficient, it’s bad for the environment and it locks us down, preventing mobility. Let’s get rid of it, shall we?
The following services, apps and gadgets aim to completely eliminate the need for paper in your life.
LifeLock is a service that helps prevent identity theft by automatically removing your name from every mailing list you don’t want to be a part of.
The service renews monthly to ensure you are permanently removed from lists and not placed on new ones. Within three months of signing up for Lifelock, I had reduced my paper mail intake by about 70%.
CatalogChoice is a non-profit that works with companies to make sure catalogs are sent to people who want them and not to you. This free service lets you search through a huge database and remove your name from any listing.
The Square Reader app allows you to accept credit card payments from your iPhone at low rates and with no monthly fees.
Payments are approved instantly and both you and the buyer get copies of the receipt via email.
You also don’t need to carry the physical card reader with you. You can enter the card number manually at a slightly higher percent charge.
HelloFax gives you a local fax number that delivers to your email inbox. You can seamlessly fill in forms, sign documents, request signatures from others and fax the documents back. It’s been about three years since I’ve held a faxed piece of paper in my hands.
With SignNow you can simply forward a document from anywhere, including your iPhone. In a few minutes you’ll receive an email that lets you sign anywhere, fill in fields, and send to someone else for signature.
It’s similar to HelloFax except it’s free, doesn’t have the fax element, and works well on mobile.
Doxie is a small, efficient scanner that will digitize your documents directly into cloud services like Dropbox and Google Docs. There will soon be a version that doesn’t require a computer, so you can scan anywhere and then sync up when you return.
If you still need to send physical mail, PostalMethods lets you upload a document with its web interface or via email.
The company will print it out, put it in an envelope, stamp and mail it. Never lick a stamp again.
For remaining mail, consider a virtual mailbox. Virtual Post Mail will give you a P.O. box and any received mail displays in an organized web portal. You can then decide if you want to have Virtual Post Mail open and scan the contents, recycle it, or forward it to any address in the world.
You can also automate letters to sort for certain senders. That way you can download and forward images as PDF files, check your mail on the beach in Thailand or let a virtual assistant handle it for you.
Check depositing is great, especially if you manage rental properties, or deal with a lot of checks. Have them sent directly to Virtual Post Mail and for $1 per check, they will be deposited at the bank for you.
CardMunch is an app that turns a picture of a business card into a transcribed piece of information sent to your phone. The scanned card is added to the contact in your address book, making it their picture.
The free app is owned by LinkedIn so the person added to your contacts is one click away from a connection request.
For bigger documents, CamScanner is an application that lets you use your phone as a scanner. Take a picture of the document, and it finds the edges, adjusts perspective and enhances text and images. Then you have a PDF you can email or upload to one of your cloud services.
ScanDigital is great for those old boxes of photos fading away in your basement. Send all of your old media, photos, VHS tapes, even slides, and it will scan and digitize everything for you.
Now you can really enjoy those photos by carrying them on your mobile device to share with friends and family.
Shoeboxed is great for outsourcing paperwork. The service mainly catalogs receipts, but you can also send any other paper product. It also provides pre-addressed and stamped envelopes. Mobile apps are available to capture receipts and business cards on the go.
All pertinent information is organized, so if you need to do expense reports or taxes, your life will be so much easier. You can also send in reams of paperwork to clear out for a fresh start. Everything is scanned and organized in an online portfolio for you.
For the odd paper-based tasks that will inevitably happen every once in while, you need to get a person involved. I use TaskRabbit to turn my handwritten notes into something more useful. (These are few and far between, thanks to Evernote, of course.)
We have a funny one to end on -- a way to play an amusing trick on your Facebook buddies.
This clever link "http://facebook.com/profile.php?=73322363" looks like it could be a URL for anyone's Facebook profile, actually takes anyone logged into Facebook to their own profile page.
If you try it out, be sure to remove the link preview that Facebook auto-ads. Have fun, and don't be too mean...as Usual ......MK
Good Morning Earthlings!!!!
I have had my coffee, therefore i come in Peace.
''Nothing is impossible when a man tries or a woman cries''
as Usual.........MK
By Rachel Lamb at Luxury Daily
Ecommerce is one of the most important ways for a brand to get customers and revenue.
The luxury sector’s digital strategy stretches from Web sites to social media marketing and online advertising. However, the ecommerce site is the one that brings home the bacon. Ecommerce sites account for a huge portion of the brand’s revenue, while connecting users with luxury companies in a way that hasn’t been done before.
“Luxury retailers need to keep their brand promise to their loyalists,” said Danielle Savin, vice president of multichannel retail and marketing at FitForCommerce, Short Hills, NJ, a best practices ecommerce consulting firm.
“The sites need to be more innovative, to show and somehow emulate design and create excitement about the product and the brand,” she said. “Luxury retailers will never be about price but having an ecommerce site allows them to create the ultimate show room of 100 percent of their merchandise, including exclusives.”
Here are the top 10 ecommerce sites of 2010:
Swarovski – This ecommerce Web site opens with a bright and colorful digital display that draws the consumers in. The images are constantly changing depending on holidays or time of year. The online shop separates by categories and pieces on a side menu, but also has organized rows in the middle of the screen with images of best-selling pieces and new products.
Clicking on a product brings users to its individual page where they can zoom to intricately see the item and also click on different views.
Below, recommended items are shown that complement the item the user is looking at. The user can opt to recommend the product by sending it through email, and the user can put the item in their shopping cart whenever possible. Swarovski saw a 1,167 percent increase in Web traffic on its ecommerce site during the holiday season (see story). The ecommerce site is easy to use, aesthetically pleasing and minimizes the amount of clicks it takes to buy a product.
Marc Jacobs – This ecommerce site is interactive and playful while also being functional.
The screen opens with an image of a bricks-and-mortar store with Marc Jacobs standing out front inviting the consumer into the store. Clicking on the “Enter” button brings the consumer to what looks like the inside of a retail location, with different lines on different floors, as well as tables with products on them.
The items on the tables can be clicked on to see the individual product pages, but running over the item with the mouse also gives product information to users. The individual product page shows sizes, colors and view options. It also has an option to put the item into a shopping bag. The site is social media-functional with links to share products on Facebook, Twitter and through email. Marc Jacobs launched its ecommerce site this year, despite the head start most of its competitors had (see story).
Donna Karan – The New York-based designer launched two ecommerce sites this year, the luxury Donna Karan New York and the more affordable DKNY (see story). Donna Karan New York’s homepage lists categories above images of products depending on the season or time of year.
The categories have drop-down menus, making the site easy to navigate and gives details about the products mentioned. Donna Karan’s personal journal makes consumers feel more attached to the brand because they are able to learn about the designer.
In this section, users can learn about Donna Karan, the brand’s philanthropy work, women who inspire the brand and Donna’s favorite things. The ecommerce site makes buying products easy to increase the revenue made.
Stella McCartney – The designer’s new online store, which now extends to Britain as well as the U.S., separates its products into different categories that feel like completely different sites (see story).
The sections are divided into Collections, Stella’s World, Shop Stella and Stella’s Kids. These images can be zoomed in on, added to a wishlist and shared on Facebook, Twitter and through email.Each subsection of the category has a different category to ensure easy navigation.
All items put in the check-out bag are easy to view because clicking on the icon at the top of the screen folds out with the names of the products and their images. The total is at the bottom of the bag. The site is easy to navigate with a search icon at the top of the screen and also features a store locator with closest retail locations.
Nordstrom – The luxury retailer’s site is bright, colorful and completely functional despite the mass amount of products on it. Consumers can browse the site through brand, department or collections.
Some products from designers are available exclusively on the ecommerce site. When a product is selected, recommended and similar items are shown on the same page to entice consumers with accessories like shoes and handbags. At check-out, the consumer has the option to have the product shipped, or to pay online and pick the item up at the store.
When the item is available, the consumer is emailed with where to pick the item up. Nordstrom’s ecommerce site makes buying luxury goods accessible and easy.
Clicking on the eshopping icon brings up Louis Vuitton’s many lines including men’s and women’s apparel, eyewear, luggage and shoes. Each section has a short video where the consumer can learn about the brand and the specific category that they clicked on. The brand makes ecommerce easy for global consumers because it ships to many places around the world. – The online upscale retailer has mastered the art of ecommerce through its sales and membership-only services.
Gilt Groupe - The online upscale retailer has mastered the art of ecommerce through its sales and members-only services. The site has sales every day, either designer-, product- or gender-based, on luxury products discounted up to 90 percent off.
Gilt offers perks to its members, such as free shipping and the chance to get credit based on what friends buy. The site offers the latest products from major brands such as Tory Burch, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs.
Tiffany & Co. – The jewelry designer’s ecommerce site attracts consumers with images of its legendary engagement rings and limited-time offers on its homepage. Consumers can browse through jewelry online by searching through the many collections and contributing designers. Product pages will come up with offers to add to bag or share on Facebook, Twitter or through email.
There is also a chance for consumers to choose the perfect engagement or wedding ring by selecting their preferred setting, diamond shape and metal. The rings can be looked at via 360-degree views with zooming features. Consumers can share these on social media sites and can speak with an expert at Tiffany’s on the phone or schedule an in-store visit.
The different ways that the brand strives to ensure that consumers are satisfied is what makes this ecommerce site excel.
Gucci – The Italian fashion house’s Web site relaunched this year, making it iPad compatible (see story).
The ecommerce site splits its inventory into collections by gender, season and product that make it easy to navigate through. All content can be printed out or shared on media networking sites like Facebook and Twitter and can be sent through email. Gucci also has a gallery of its past campaigns, what is new right now, children’s lines and charity work.
The ecommerce site not only allows consumers to buy Gucci products, but its interactive and informative content lets consumers behind the scenes.
Ralph Lauren – The end of the year brought many changes for the Ralph Lauren’s Web site.
One was that the brand extended its strategy to Britain, so that British consumers can now buy the brand online. Another is its interactive Make-Your-Own flag polo feature. Consumers can pick the colors of their shirt or fleece, select a flag from whatever country they want and then put text such as initials or a name.
The changes for the ecommerce site show that the brand wants to keep its consumers interested and the extended product line not only satisfy their consumer base but increases revenue as well.
“There needs to be a different set of rules for luxury ecommerce to set them apart from the retail masses,” FitForCommerce’s Ms. Savin said. “In some ways, they will lead the way for other online retailers with new features and functionality to keep the browser and customer interested and coming back often.”
