Travel and Leisure

A Blue Cruise is probably one of the most relaxing and marvelous vacations to be had. Cruising leisurely on board a Turkish gulet along a mountainous and pristine coastline rich with the remains of ancient civilizations offers the traveler much to see and experience. The turquoise blue sea in this part of the world is so clear that the sea bed is often visible. Numerous wooded bays and coves, many of them secluded, dot the shoreline and Blue Voyage charters give one enough opportunity to wander around and explore at will. Anatolia's rich culture and history unfold along the way as the gulet stops at charming fishing villages, market towns, popular resorts as well as a host of ancient ruins and monuments. Add to that the relaxed and friendly atmosphere as well as modern comforts on board the gulet and you have something close to a floating paradise. 

A Blue Cruise charter gulet, which is a motor powered wooden yacht made by hand, combines indigenous boat building traditions with modern technology. These yachts run on motors at speeds between 8 and 11 knots, usually, and are generally capable of sailing only when the wind permits. Gulets are designed to accommodate a maximum of 16 passengers who sleep in twin or single cabins, which have attached showers and WCs. Many gulets are air - conditioned. Most of the time on board is spent lounging, making friends and sunbathing on the spacious deck or dining in the saloon or under an awning. Gulets usually have well equipped galleys and fresh delicious Turkish cuisine is served on board. Since all gulets have bars, passengers can buy alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. 

On an average, gulets cruise for three hours everyday and keep close to shore. On board a gulet, one rarely confronts choppy waters because the boat normally moves in and out of bays and coves, stopping at least twice a day. Gulets have water sports equipment for those interested in snorkeling, windsurfing, diving and water - skiing. Guests have plenty of opportunity to swim in the clean waters of the Turkish Mediterranean and sunbathe as much as they wish. As the gulet drops anchor near quaint villages and towns, islands as well as interesting historical sites, one can undertake short treks inland to explore secluded spots, the remains of ancient civilizations as well as to get a feel of life in Turkish fishing villages and small towns. Though the yacht normally stops for the night at solitary coves, it will dock at fairly large coastal towns at least twice or thrice over the duration of the cruise in order to give passengers the chance to shop, wander around as well as sample the nightlife. 

Blue Voyage cruises are known for attentive and personalized service as well as for the fresh delectable cuisine served on board. The captain, cook and crew are friendly and take pains to ensure that guests are happy with the food and service. The emphasis is on relaxation and enjoyment. On some evenings, guests are entertained by the captain and crew. The idea is to encourage passengers to mingle and have fun together. Dinner on the aft deck under the stars is a wonderful experience. Though the crew can usually manage to speak a few words of English, guests are advised to take a pocket dictionary along to facilitate communication if need be.

Laundry facilities are rarely offered on board so it's best to take more than one swimsuit. Guests may, of course, wash their own clothes if they wish. Some light warm clothing will come in handy as the evenings can be cool. Other clothes and gear that are recommended are a pair of full length trousers for historical and nature treks, a few long and short sleeved shirts, sun shades, beach towel, sun screen, hat and flip - flops. Snorkeling enthusiasts might want to take their own goggles along with them. Bed and bath linen are provided on board. Though each cabin has storage space, it is best to carry a collapsible bag rather than a suitcase because the former are easier to stow.

In general, gulets are comfortable and the crew is always at hand to help passengers if required. Life on board a gulet, as passengers soon discover, is truly a pleasure.

I find it absolutely amazing how the internet has just permeated into every aspect of our lives. Money used to be represented by gold, copper or other metals. The value of money used to be backed by the amount of gold the issuer had. Then when money was taken off the gold standard, it became represented by paper. The piece of paper in itself had no real value. It was who was printing that piece of paper that mattered. Money became an IOU of sorts. Today, with the internet, money is not even that piece of paper anymore. It is represented just by numbers. Money can be created out of nowhere, and can disappear as quickly. Making money has never been easier. Today, even virtual products can be bought and sold, for real money. All thanks to the internet.

So what are the ways of making money online ? My list is far from exhaustive, I'm sure.

Online marketing has been used in the real world, where real products are bought and sold. Supermarket chains now allow their customers to order their products online. Shopping used to take 2 hours, including travelling time. Not to mention, one had to match one's timing to when the shops were open. Today, you can do your groceries at 1 am, and get them delivered the next day. Just log onto the website, click a few items and pay with your credit card. Done. You don't even need to buy your things from shops in your neighbourhood. The shops don't even need to be in your country. In some cases, the shops don't even exist in the real world, just online. You can get books and many other products from Amazon.com. eBay is virtually synonymous with online buying and selling. You never have to touch a paper dollar. Paypal transfers some numbers from your account to the merchant's account at a click of a button. Selling products online has opened a whole new world of customers. Now you can sell your products to people worldwide. All they need is an internet connection. Then the postal service collects the goods, and ships them over to you. And I thought with the advent of faxes and emails, the postal services will go out of business. Now they are busier than ever.

So what else can one buy with online marketing ? Digital products are becoming increasingly popular. E-books, computer programmes etc can all be sent through the internet. No need to wait for the postal service to deliver the product to you. Just click on the button, pay with paypal or your credit card, a few numbers disappear again, and the product is yours ! Huge business. If the Google advertisements are to be believed, many people are getting rich just selling digital products online. The production costs are minimal. Outlay doesn't cost much. It is hardly surprising these products are able to pay out as high as 50-70% in commissions.

Google and Yahoo! function almost entirely in the internet world. Look how rich their creators have become, and their wealth is still increasing.

Then you can make money online with advertisements. Google AdSense is probably one of the best known ones. People pay Google for its pay-per-click ads, called adwords. Others allow Google to put a few little advertisements on their websites. Hardly complicated. In fact, for the Google people, it's almost nothing, as the advertisements are written by the advertisers themselves. The computer helps them find places for the advertisements to appear. People who want the advertisements simply apply to have them appear on their websites. Someone else clicks on the advertisement, the advertiser gets charged, and the "advertisee" gets paid. Hopefully a sale also results. And Google makes a fortune. They must be hundreds of digital products and blogs / websites all tailored towards making money using AdWords or adsense. These products in themselves generate millions of dollars.

There are also many websites set up specifically for people to get their websites noticed by those searching for similar products. Some are free. Others charge a fee. You can always get a website set up by someone who is technologically savvy, or use one of the many services available.

Then there's affiliate marketing. Wonderful way of making money online. For this, you don't even need to have products. You just borrow other people's products, market it for them, and get paid commissions if the products are sold. Add this on to websites that get created for you, and you barely need to do much work yourself. I've found that you can even pay people to write articles for you to promote the products ! Some places that offer affiliate marketing I've found are clickbank, amazon and the rich dad company.

If all this sounds too complicated, there are the old easy ways of making money online. Enterprising people have put together lists of companies who are happy to pay people to answer surveys online. For a small fee, these companies are able to get surveys to find answers to how their customers feel, what they want and what products they like. They don't have to hire people to do it for them anymore. At a click of a button, they can send the surveys out to many who have registered with them to answer surveys. In the past, someone would have to call each person up and speak to them. As for those answering the surveys, it is really easy money. For a few minutes of their time, at their own leisure, they just click a few answers and the money comes in ! Wonderful concept.

Just a side comment. Trading in stocks and their derivatives have been around for a long time. All this has become so much easier with the internet. Traders no longer need to call up their brokers frantically trying to buy or sell their stocks. That's another way to make money online.

And finally, this one took me by surprise when I first read of it in the newspapers. People are now selling virtual products online. There are many online games, some where players from all over the world meet in the virtual world. Some games involve creating characters with particular powers, or with particular weapons that can be used against other players. The article mentioned that some people were actually paying others real money for virtual weapons !

There are so many ways of making money online. Money is being created everyday this way. And all it takes is a lot of imagination , eyes to see where the money is and a little technical know-how.

In the current scenario, where everyone uses the Internet to find out about the latest information on restaurants, travels, movies, different products and services, having a company website is the most vital ingredient for the success of your company. If someone wishes to purchase the product sold by your company or the services offered by your company they immediately check out your company's website to get the latest information before calling up the customer service department. And if you don't have a website or your company does have a website but it is not properly updated and maintained, can you imagine the impression it creates on the buyer. Hence it is essential to seek the services of a website designer who will be able to help you in your predicament.

• Designing the site: A Website designer uses Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator in order to create the design of the site. These two programmes help them to toy around with different ideas and concepts before anything is finalized. It also helps the designers to chang4e the colour and layout of the designs. Once a particular design is approved they will cut the layouts created and use them in the different web pages.

• The process: The first step in opting for website design usually involves the client meeting, where the Website designer meets the client to discuss their needs and requirements. This meeting basically deals with understanding the client's business, what are the products or services offered followed by their client base along with the company future plans. Once the designer has a clear idea of this they will be able to give the following checklist:

1. Budget
2. Timescale
3. Competitors
4. Typical customer
5. Main aims of the website
6. Design ideas

It is always better to have a clear understanding of the client's requirements. There is no point in rushing into things. Without a proper understanding the designer will not be able to create a good website. If it requires go for two-three sittings with the client and then start creating the website. Website Design, by nature is a bit complex. It is not possible for everyone to do it. Once all the doubts and queries are clear the designer can start creating the site. And it is always wise to take minimum 30 to 50% of the fee before one begins to work. And once the designing is complete it is necessary to carry out the following steps before the site goes live. These steps normally include the following:

• Signing up for Google analytics
• XHTML and CSS validated
• Unique page titles on every page
• Test all links
• Test forms

The reason why so many people are willing to invest a significant amount of time, energy and money into creating a résumé is because it is the one area of job hunting that is controlled by them. Psychologists will tell you that an innate fear of failure causes people to take what seems like forever to create their résumés. They fear rejection via a face-to-face interview which is why they spend so long crafting the 'perfect' résumé rather than calling a prospective employer on the phone for example. Hardly anyone ever gets hired via a résumé alone and must also face an interview. You should know that according to recruiters, 40% of a hiring decision is based entirely on the individual's personality. Therefore, your résumé is only the beginning of the job seeking journey so stop taking so long creating it!

What To Include In Your Résumé
Keep it under 2 A4 pages because most résumés are scanned in a matter of seconds. The content should be easy to read and relatively free of jargon. Why? Because the person reading your résumé will probably be from the company's HR department and may have no clue about technical issues related to your industry. Stay traditional in terms of font with Times New Roman 10-12 font size and black type against white paper. A simple Word Document format is sufficient and your employment and education histories should be written in reverse chronological format.

Believe it or not, including personal information is what could keep you from being hired. For example, if the job you're looking for involves lots of travel and you are married with young children, the company may decide against interviewing you. Avoid fancy phrases and use words that refer to titles such as controller, manager and customer service. Above all, tell a story in your résumé as much as space allows. For example, explain that you completed a project 20% under budget or else you were responsible for initiatives that yielded a 14% increase in company profit.

Courage & Initiative
Initiative is not just something that should be showcased on a résumé; it should be in everything you do related to job hunting. Approximately 60% of jobs are found through networking so instead of hoping that your résumé will be spotted online by a recruiter, start picking up the phone and talking to everyone you have worked with that may have connections. Leave no stone unturned in your bid to become known and to find important information about people and companies that are hiring.

In the end, it is courage that will land you a job as much as your experience and qualifications. You could be the most talented person in your field but if no one knows you exist, how can you expect to get called for an interview? Everyone can send out a résumé but ultimately, it is interviews that get you a job. It is important for you to accept the risk of being rejected and to keep trying again and again until you succeed. While you should absolutely take some time to create an excellent, professional résumé, don't spend weeks and months on it because it is just one step in a very long journey.

Besides the more mundane functions, such as arranging coaching and training times and venues, uniforms, travel, and budget development and accounting, an "executive sports manager" is responsible for the drafting and signing of new players and player trades.

Executive sports management are mostly behind-the-scenes professions. Public awareness of the close relationship between the agent, the player, and the team's executive management was raised by the movie "Jerry Maguire", where the NFL player played by Cuba Gooding Jr. demands, in the enduring quote from the movie, that his agent "Show me the money!"

A team's executive sports manager works directly with the player's agent and the team's GM, negotiating salary and length of contract. An academic track to an executive level position with a professional team requires a Master's or other advanced sports management online degree. Curriculum first focuses general MBA-level coursework in business, law, human resources, and economics. Subsequent executive sports management degree coursework includes sports-specific media, PR, communications, and marketing, including fan club development and management, as well as training on software used in collegiate settings and in the MLB, NFL, NBA, MLS, and NHL, talent scouting and sports agency, human resources, NCAA academics and compliance law, and game day and ticket operations.

A majority of executive managers entering their job through a non-academic track were successful players and/or coaches, making a natural transition from player or coach to executive sports management. The aspiring executive sports management degree seeking student will also benefit from experience that demonstrates ability to take a team to victory. Experience as a successful player or coach is essentially a prerequisite for both the non-academic and academic tracks to a career as an executive manager.

Event managers work with professional major league and minor league sports, as well as intercollegiate, and organized regional, local, and corporate amateur sports. Destination and tourism associations, including Convention and Visitor Bureaus, increasingly employ sport event managers to help them capitalize on the potential for attracting and growing sporting events in their city or region.

Event management students learn how to produce sporting events, including recruiting, organizing, and motivate volunteers, and finding appropriate sponsors for the event, using a variety of public relations strategies and campaign models. Coursework and practicum are designed to help sports management students master the skills necessary to ethically and effectively market a sporting event to sponsors, attendees, and competitors.

Some sports management degree graduates enter the event management field in a sales position. A small organization may employ a new management degree graduate as their corporate sales director. A large organization may employ an event manager as director of ticketing and finance or as corporate or campus event manager.

A Sport Management degree graduate entering a career as an event manager will have job responsibilities that vary by type sport and type of organization, and, of course, the level of management. But the focus will always be on the business aspect of the sport, including event sponsorship, promotion, media relations, and broadcasting, as well as ticketing and accounting. A typical sport event manager's workweek is 50 - 60 hours, including some night and weekend hours.

Most people living in the U.S. fly in airplanes to get to places of major distances. That is completely different than in most industrial countries. Train travel is the norm throughout Europe, Japan and even less-developed countries. High-speed trains that have great luxury are available in the industrial countries. I've heard that Japan is even trying to adopt the American technology of magnetically levitated trains (Maglev). These trains float over the rails, propelled by a linear induction motor.

Today, air travelers must arrive at airports hours early, just to get through security to get physically checked and baggage x-rayed. Security checks require individuals to almost undress in order to get scanned. There are recently established limitations on the quantity of liquids security allows to be transported in carry-on luggage. Airports are usually a long drive from residential areas. They must be in low-density population locations because of noise restrictions. New airports must be built, but these airports will be even further outside the cities. Today it has become commonplace to find airplanes late or baggage lost. All seats are usually sold. Cartoonists frequently show standard-fare passengers sitting as packed cattle. It is not unusual for planes to sit on the tarmac waiting to take off in a long lime of other airplanes or having landed and waiting for an arrival gate to open. Then there is another long wait for the airplane door to open and to exit when there is room to depart down the center aisle.

The assumption is that air traffic in our country will increase greatly during the next decades. Airports today already have difficulties with the traffic that currently exists. Weather problems near a hub city often cause all air traffic to be delayed. Waiting time can grow from minutes to hours. Passenger movement within airplanes also has its difficulties and limitations, especially on long flights.

Why is travel by train so unpopular in America? Before the mid-twentieth century, traveling on American trains was equal to, if not better than the best train travel in the world. Trains with sleeping accommodations, i.e. Pullman Cars, were used to get across the country. Today, express, regular-speed trains between New York City and Washington are equal in travel time for business travelers who ride trains instead of flying. These train travelers need not travel out to an airport and wait through security and take off in late planes. The current trouble with train travel is the terribly poor conditions of trains along with the poor food service. Traveling by train is just a little better than traveling by airplane.

Train travel would be successful if the U.S. government or a private transportation company invested in high-speed trains between Boston and Washington, with stops only in New York and maybe Philadelphia. Total travel time would be significantly cut and scheduled on-time travel assured. Business people could eat and talk in comfort if dining cars were once again installed. High-speed trains between Los Angeles and San Francisco would also be successful.

Think about how many flights would be eliminated, including the reduction of pollution that air traffic emits. What a savings in time there would be for other non-business travelers at Logan, Kennedy/LaGuardia and Regan airports. It would be only a short walk for most business people in New York and Washington.

Why doesn't this transition from air to train travel happen in the United Sates? The explanation is simple. Air travel had such a huge lobby to make people switch from trains to planes. Aircraft companies added to the lobby. But with air travel conditions rapidly deteriorating, the switch to train travel has to occur. What adds to train travel convenience is that hotels are still close to the train stations.

The Chablais Alps is the western portion of the Alps near Lake Geneva in Switzerland zigzags to the Mont Blanc pinnacle. The Col des Montets keeps them from reaching Mont Blanc proper, however. There are several large mountains in the area too. The tallest is Dents du Midi (Mountain Teeth) at 3257 meters, with others like Mont Ruan at 3053 meters and Dents Blanches at 2759 meters. Chablais, Les Portes du Soleil, then, is a sizable quarter of the Chablais Alps housing some thirteen resorts between Mont Blanc in France and Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

Each of the communes offers up their own culture and history, with walking tours, tourist's offices and true Swiss culture everywhere. It could take days to tour and learn something new about each one. The highest commune, by example, is Avoriaz. This modern area built in the mid-1960s used a lot of materials such as wood and stone from the area, rendering it both attractive and eco-friendlier before the word existed. The other bonus is Avoriaz is pedestrian-friendly with a no car policy. If you're looking for the most snow in this area, you'll neither get any better snow nor any higher altitude than here.

Other resorty towns in the area include Morzine at 1000 meters. There's a traditional market and chalets near the river gorge giving pristine views. Beginners, you'll find the best skiing here making it one of the best bases for families. Plus, Morzine is bull's eye center in one of the best regions of the Porte du Soleil for getting around. Not to be confused with Morzine, Morgins is not as crowded as the French side of the ski area. Here, there are also some really nice cozy chalets for families wanting to escape the noise and throngs in higher Chablais Porte du Soleil ski resorts. You'll find plenty of other resorts with their own ambiance. Champery, Val D'Illiez and Torgon are just a few Swiss resorts that have a different mood you might be looking for.

You'll not only find contrasts in the resort towns but in the activities extended by each. You'll almost always get a heartfelt welcome-it seems the farther you traveled, the more balmy the welcome. There are more cultural and historical sites to behold here than any other ski resorts in the area, on either side of the border. There are four ways to get here. You can here in less than an hour from the Geneva airport. You can come from anywhere in Europe by car, by train or even by boat (given that you are on waterways and Lake Geneva).

It's hard to hold back from a visit when the ski region is so expansive: 14 valleys, 645 square kilometers, 650 of marked ski runs and nearly 230 lifts can keep hundreds of thousands of tourists in good spirits for their entire ski vacation. Though the highest ski lift only takes you up to 2466 meters, the snow cannons jet fresh powder on the runs ensuring great all-day skiing. Different slopes face different ways, with nearly each one offering something for every skill level. If you're whole family wants to go to Chatel, for example, and find over three main ski areas to choose from-one for Mom, Dad and Child.

In the region of Chablais in the Porte du Soleil, you'll find the highest lift taking you upwards of 2400 meters to below 1000 meters above sea level. There are over 80 chairlifts and four cable lifts. The 14 gondolas, however, take care of the larger groups in no time at all. If you know your level, you'll be able to find your marked path. The area was initially developed with beginners in mind, so there are 112 blue runs at hand. With the growth and integration of the ski areas, there are now 146 green runs, quite a few more than beginner runs to date. Additionally, there are 23 red runs and six black runs.

If skiing on your entire vacation has got your legs shaking, then you can try a plethora of other outdoor and indoor activities. In addition to snowboarding, you can snowshoe and hike through the area. There are alpine races, leisure parks and museums and cultural affairs nearly every day of the high ski season. Moreover, the restaurants and bars and après ski options never go dim. You can find something to do anytime you get a hankering to have a great time. And, if you're in photography, don't forget you're in the Rhone Valley, one of the world's best spots for alpine peaks and landscape photography. The Chablais region of Porte du Soleil is second to none for a skiing vacation. Once you arrive, you and your family will have the best times of your lives.