A Change will do you Good

As the last rays of summer's warmth ebb away and the gentle breezes of autumn waft themselves upon us, we recognize once again, that change is inevitable. Nature is constantly changing and yet, so many people have the notion that change is frightening.

People are creatures of habit and some find it difficult to adjust to changes that are certain to come our way. Life is like an old, comfortable pair of shoes. We may realize that we need new ones and we may even find new ones we really like, but, we know that changing will cause us discomfort for a little while until we break them in.

Sometimes we need to realize that life isn't always easy. What may be better for us is not what we are used to, but it is certainly worth the trouble of breaking in new habits and lifestyle changes.

Change does not have to be painful. Just look to nature and it will give you clues to how change can be effortless. The beautifully colored autumn leaves do not hang on to the old tree for dear life. No, they yield to the changes with ease and float gently off the tree.

With the coming of autumn we have been busy in our gardens pulling up the old stuff and getting ready for a time of rest. We know that the ground must rest and next year there will be more wonderful things in our garden to delight us.

Are there things in your life that need to be gently eased out of your life? Maybe there are bad relationships or habits or thoughts that need to be weeded out of your life. Don't be afraid to do a little gardening in your own life.

Every gardener knows that unless we get to the roots, we really are not getting rid of the problem. It may go away for awhile but unless we get to the root, it will sneak back into the garden very quickly.

Although the harvest time is here there is no time to stop weeding the garden of our minds. This garden needs constant attention in order for us to flourish and be all that we can be. The only way to keep this garden in top shape is to make sure that no weeds are there trying to strangle any good we are trying to do. The weeds of our mind, of course are negative thoughts that like to creep in and keep us from achieving that which we are striving for.

William James said, "Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.

How do we change the inner attitudes of our minds? By changing the way we think. We must put fear and negativity behind us. How, you ask? Just as the leaves of autumn gently blow from the tree, don't try and make a change in your thinking over night and expect to get instant results. We cannot rip these thoughts out of our minds, as much as we would like to sometimes. No, we need to be gentle on ourselves and let positive thoughts replace the negative.

Yes it will take some work on your part. You must constantly fill your mind with positive thoughts. Proverbs 27: 3 says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. We are what we think. When the negative thoughts come into your mind, you must be ready and willing to replace those thoughts with positive ones. Just say to yourself, no, I won't let that thought take over my mind, I will think positively. Affirmations are good to have readily available so you can replace the negative thought with the positive one. It won't be easy, it won't be hard either, it will just be different, like that new pair of shoes we were talking about earlier.

The autumn leaves fall to make way for new life. We too must go through changes that will bring new growth to our bodies, souls and spirits.

Change is inevitable, so why fight it? Why be afraid of it? Yes, change will require us to do a bit of readjusting but it is always worth it. Don't be afraid of change, a change will do you good.


This article is bought to you by Sharron Myers

Why Have an EOC

By

Clark Reynolds

Clark Reynolds & Co.

As an elected official have you ever wondered, "Why have an Emergency Operations Center?" This is a good question.

A jurisdiction's Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, is a critical emergency resource, as important as a fire truck. But, EOC's are not fully appreciated, probably because their purpose is not clearly understood. Having a clear purpose can have a direct impact on the design of an effective EOC.

There are varying opinions about the purpose of the Emergency Operations Center. Is it a control center? Is it a dispatch center? What is it?

I have discussed the purpose of the EOC with emergency managers across the country. Most have agreed that the EOC has a two-fold purpose:

• 1. To develop and maintain awareness of the emergency situation for decision makers
• 2. To coordinate support for emergency responders

The first purpose, To develop and maintain awareness of the emergency situation for decision making, is critical. Why? Because, it is the basis for making critical decisions and for releasing information that could effect the lives of everyone in the jurisdiction. Making critical decisions without situation awareness borders on irresponsible; it can be dangerous and may become a potential legal liability.

Before we can understand the value of the EOC, we need to define some of the terminology we use to describe the EOC.

Decision makers: We are not talking about the expertise in the EOC. We mean chief elected officials or their authorized representatives who are responsible for making the critical decisions that may effect the entire jurisdiction.

Critical decisions: These are the strategic level decisions that chief elected officials or their representatives must make. Strategic level decisions are those that may effect the entire jurisdiction. The experts running the EOC make the tactical level decisions.

Critical strategic level decisions usually reveal themselves as difficult questions during an emergency. Can we handle this emergency? Should or could we declare a disaster or state of emergency? What are the public safety or legal implications of ordering curfews, evacuations, deployments, and quarantines? What will it cost? What, when, how, or should we tell the public?

Emergency Public Information is the second important reason for having an EOC. Emergency Public Information includes tools such as press releases and public service announcements, press conferences, etc. Chief elected officials can use these tools to affect how the public reacts to an emergency and, consequently, affect the scope of the emergency.

In summary, if we are not adequately aware of the emergency situation, then we do not know what to say to the public. We are gambling. In the absence of a steady flow of credible information from chief elected officials or their representatives, the public may seek its own answers in rumors or from a speculating news media.

Now, let's look at the second purpose of the EOC: To coordinate support for emergency responders. It is second behind situation awareness because, if you are unaware of the emergency situation, it follows that you cannot effectively and responsibly coordinate support. Again, to understand this purpose, we need to define the terminology.

Support. This is a key term. It involves the supplying the resources needed to sustain emergency responders and their activities.

Emergency responders. These are the people in the field who must deal with the emergency, firsthand. The "field" could be outdoors or in hospital emergency rooms which become the "front lines" during epidemics.

Coordination. This is the process of linking requests for resources from responders to providers of resources, or "match making," if you will. The process involves answering a call from a responder, finding and calling resources, arranging deliveries, following up on promises, and monitoring results on behalf of the requester. Much of this is done by telephone, some by radio. By whatever means, coordination for a request should be the responsibility of one EOC staff member who reports a result to the requester.

Coordinating is different from managing. Practically speaking, the EOC does not manage responders or their resources. Response agencies have their own operations centers, or dispatch centers, for managing responders and their resources. The EOC is "behind the lines," monitoring the situation and "feeding the pipeline" by coordinating requests for support from responder operations centers.

An EOC that can develop situation awareness has the capability of effectively coordinating support for responders in the field. These two capabilities make the EOC an essential tool and an integral part of the jurisdiction's arsenal of emergency resources.

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Do You Have Enough Time To Be A Volunteer

There are a number of people who apologize for only being able to volunteer one or two hours a week. Some of them do not feel like they can make a difference in such a short time. Some even avoid volunteering because they consider their potential contribution a waste of time. Does this describe you?

This way of thinking could not be further from the truth! Making a difference does not have to take a significant amount of time. You can make a change in someone's life and in the world by volunteering the time you have available.

Let me prove it to you by walking you through a short exercise. It will only take you a few minutes to do this exercise, but it will be worth it.

1. Make a list of every person who had a positive impact on you. Think back as far as you can remember. Do not forget about your friends and family who encouraged you by something they said, leaders and teachers who taught you a critical skill, mentors who asked you thought-provoking questions and others who helped you during a difficult time in your life.

2. Once your list is complete, write down the amount of time it took each of them to make their life changing contribution. The times may range from several years to only a few minutes.

3. Look through your list and select those items where people helped or encouraged you in a short amount of time.

What did you discover from this exercise? You probably uncovered memories of several individuals who contributed to your life in a positive way. Many of them made their mark on your life because they cared. Also, some of their actions took less time than you are able to devote to volunteering. If others could do it for you, you can do it for others!

It is now up to you. Do not let excuses keep you from experiencing the tremendous benefits of being a volunteer. Discover a great volunteer opportunity and get involved. There are many volunteer opportunities that can use your unique passions, experiences and talents. Review the list you created earlier and consider the ways others made a positive impact on you in a short time. You could do the same for someone else. Use whatever available time you have to make a difference.

There is someone in this world who is waiting for you to donate whatever time you can afford to make his or her life a little bit better. Do not let your thoughts of wanting to have more time keep you from giving to that person today. Author Resource:- Go to http://volunteer-opportunities.blogspot.com to learn more about volunteering and how to find a great volunteer opportunity. Roger Carr is the founder of Everyday Giving.

Computer Security - How to Stay Safe In A World of Hackers

Consider the latest "Die Hard". Some teenagers, few masterminds and trillions of dollars being siphoned off the federal fund that has been deposited against people's social security benefits. Do not think that it is a simple cinematic flick! Today hackers are so sophisticated that they can actually bring a law abiding citizen down on the streets. With the advent of technology making life easier for most of us, getting to shop from the comfort of our homes or transfer money from the safety of our living rooms, the fact remains that the nameless faceless cyber world is dotted with criminal minded people whose sole intention is to rob you off your identity, get access to all your important details and use those for their own benefits. How do you fight that? Install an anti-virus. An anti-virus protects your computer from malicious viruses that tend to lodge themselves deep into your hard drive and copy all your data and transfer those to servers where you would not want your confidential information to be a hacker's server. If someone sends you a virus intentionally or unintentionally, the anti-virus detects the virus and destroys it. Keep your anti-virus up-to-date. Set your anti-virus such that there is a weekly scan scheduled for all the hard drives in your computer. Install a firewall: A firewall will always keep a check on the information that is exchanged between your computer and other computers every time that you are logged on to the internet. That way you will be protected from any unwanted code or application getting downloaded on to your PC inadvertently. Any data that do not meet the security requirement set by the program developer will be barred from entering your computer by the firewall. Always keep your firewall updated as well. Act Smart: Do not store personal information in your computer. Information like your social security number, credit card number, pins, bank account numbers, telephone numbers, addresses, etc. Do not click on links that look suspicious. Most spam mails have links that should be avoided. These can lead to downloading of applications that may erase your hard drive. Always scan all attachments using your antivirus before opening it or running it or installing it on your computer. Do not exchange personal information in chat rooms, through mails or instant messages. Divulge your credit card details or social security details only to secured sources or through secured websites. Do not buy pirated products, software or programs. These may send messages over the internet when you are working with the particular software. Do not download executable files to your PC from unknown sources. Be extremely cautious while exchanging information over the internet. Keeping the above points in mind will help you in keeping your computer secure. Although every day a number of Trojan viruses or worms are coded and let loose over the internet, we must always do the best that we can in order to ensure security. A computer is an expensive device. A simple insecure download can render the whole machine useless.

Author Resource:- Gregg Hall is an author living on the Emerald Coast of Florida. Now that you know a little more about computer security be sure that you get quality computer accessories by going to http://www.nsearch.com

Discover The Origins of Network Communications

In this age of instantaneous network communications, it is easy to forget that just fifteen years ago there were no emails, chat rooms, internet telephone conversations and the expensive mobile phones in circulation could be doubled up as an effective door stop. Where would we be without our wafer thin, Bluetooth, want it yesterday technology? This article looks at what was and what could be without the developments network communications technology. I think we can accept that before literally everything people communicated by grunts and hurling faeces at one another, so we shall start from one of the most famous network communications of all time, Marathon. There was in place a network of communications, albeit an incredibly primitive one but nevertheless an incredibly important message was sent and received in the time required. Although instead of the battery on a laptop dying, the messenger who delivered it died. All the network communications technicians wipe their brow in relief as we no longer live in a society where the messenger is literally shot, although network communications are massively important for survival not only in the business world. After the messenger from Marathon dropped dead people started thinking outside the box and using beacons, mirrors and torches. It feels strange to call this a technology but it was, and used into the twentieth century. The major problem with the beacons, mirrors and torches, were that network communications could only be extremely simple. The American Indians had been using smoke signals for years which could provide a number of different messages, however this was not sufficient. As with many technologies it was the militarisation of wartime that pushed development in network communications further. During the end of the eighteenth century the French were in a sticky position, surrounded by hostile countries and battling dealing with a revolution. They desperately need to communicate as quickly as possible so the Chappe brothers covered the country with 556 optical telegraph stations. The optical telegraph sent messages via visual signals from a tower which had various paddles which altered their shape, each mechanical element bearing part of the message. The Chappe brothers created the first real example of network communications on a large scale with their communication network spread over 4, 800 kilometres. This was followed closely by the electromechanical telegraph and although this was a much more effective than the preceding technology it was not until the latter half of the nineteenth century that the communications network bore fruit. The telegraph required a networked series of wires that would pass current though to send the message. Samuael F. B. Morse patented the first electrical telegraph and worked out a series of dot-dash cryptographic representation of the alphabet known as the Morse Code. The Italian Marconi invented the first wireless telegram via radio signal at the turn of the century and in 1901 Marconi successfully sent the letter S across the Atlantic creating the first of many transatlantic network communications. This communications network development and its cousin the telephone mapped the path for the massive leaps taken in recent years. Network communications have evolved at an astonishing rate in the last half a century, mainly due to satellite and internet technology.

Author Resource:- Shaun Parker is an expert in communications networks and a qualified telecommunications engineer.