Fresh Ideas

Archive for October, 2008

Forming friendship in the workplace is sometimes tricky. As much as you would like to bond with different kinds of people, complications starts to arise.

 

Being careless with your words in the office may lead you into something nasty and you would not want to create havoc in your peaceful nest.

 

If you want to avoid certain disputes, you should learn to refrain these 5 topics and keep your mouth shut:

 

 

1. Money

 

It is not ethical to discuss money matters in the workplace. One should not divulge how much you earn from your co-workers. You will surely invite envy and jealousy right in front of your doorstep. You will always hear this kind of gossip where one worker lent money to another and the other refuses to pay when time comes. Fighting will surely erupt when money matters are being talked about in the office.

 

2. Religion

 

Personal beliefs caused wars over several centuries and definitely you don’t want to happen it in your own office. Clearly, you should refrain in discussing this kind of issue. Different personal spiritual beliefs contradict with one another and several cultures cannot agree which one is more superior than the other.

 

3. Personal Problems

 

When you come to work, it is inevitable that you will keep your mouth shut about the problem with your personal life like sibling rivalry, couple issues, family feuds etc.

 

These matters should not be brought up in the office because in the first place, it will not help your co-workers with your personal issues do their duties. You as a person will seem to be vulnerable to some kind of attacks when trying times comes.

 

4. Politics

 

Everyone has a political preference and when it comes to political issues, strong opinions abounds. Differences in political opinions always, and I should strongly stress this, ALWAYS created vocal arguments. We don’t want another casualty in the office because of one lousy argument because of politics.

 

5. Relationship

It is ok to talk about personal relationship in the office but not too much. Who wanted to hear about your own sex life unless you’re a maniac or wanted to hear the latest scandal.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 kilo pork belly (Liempo)
• 1/2 kilo pork liver
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 medium size potatoes cubed
• 2 medium size carrots cubed
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 dried bay leaf (dahong laurel)
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil for sauteeing

 

Instructions:

 

1. Saute garlic and onions. Add the pork and cook until no longer pink.
2. Add the pork liver. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 15 minutes or until liver is cooked (turns gray in color).
3. Add the bay leaf and pour the tomato sauce. Add water and let boil.
4. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the meat are cooked and sauce slightly thickened.
5. Add the carrots and potatoes. Simmer until the veggies are tender. 

Waived registration fee. No annual fees. Zero percent interest for the next six months, or even a year. Rewards points. Free airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, a variety of great brand-name products. Low teaser rates and other deals sound great, until you find out what you’re really paying – if you find out.Who could resist such a deal?

Well, if you’re smart, maybe you.

Enticing offers like these from your bank or credit-card issuer are increasingly filled with traps that can pile on unexpected fees or trigger punitive interest rates, some as high as 35%. True, the details are spelled out in the fine print of promotions and cardholder agreements. You have to be incredibly diligent to avoid the tripwire.

The strategies that follow will help make sure you don’t get caught.

Bait and Switch: The Oldest Trick in the Book

Trap No. 2
Late Payments?: One Strike and You’re Up

You probably know that late payments can prompt your card issuer to increase your interest rate, even of you’re a first time offender. And you may know that some issuers will raise your rate if you’re late paying a bill to a different company altogether – a policy called universal default that is practiced by 45% of banks nationwide.

Trap No. 3
Two-Cycle Billing System: Twice Is Not So Nice

For the information of those who don’t have the luxury to watch television, read the newspaper or hear news on the radio, the Chinese government are now recalling and stopping all exportation and recalling certain products with milk because of the findings that those products contained the chemical Melamine.

 

Scientifically speaking, Melamine is being used with formaldehyde to produce very durable plastic. Actually, we do have some plastic saucer and plate in our house and Melamine was indicated on the back portion, meaning it was made from Melamine. So, how in the world is this chemical being used to make plastic is also the same compound being used in producing milk to be consumed by babies and adults alike?!

 

According to one source, this chemical is sometimes illegally added to food products because of its high-protein content. Also, it was said that it is non-toxic if induce in low content, but if it was combined with a certain cyanuric acid, then it could be fatal kidney stones because its protein content cannot be absorb by the body.

 

Before the scandal in milk in China, there was a previous animal feed recall last 2007, and the source of this was some traces melamine in pet food.

 

The scandal now involving milk and infant formula from China with Melamine content infamously gained worldwide attention. There were reportedly 53,000 people that became ill and four infant deaths already.

 

It was said that Melamine was added after water to increase it’s milk volume. This indicated a false increase in protein and nitrogen levels in the milk.

 

I received an email regarding the current news about the products that has milk contents from China. This explained how you can be sure that will not be fooled in buying milk goods from China. You will need to check the first 3 digits on the bar code.

 

If you see the bar code starting of with 690, 691 or 692, then definitely it was made in China.

 

If you see 471, then it was made in Taiwan, and it is safe to consume.

 

Everyone must be aware and vigilant about this. Some businessman will still try to fool people in order to get good profits in the expense of the health of their buyers.

 

I also received another email in regards to the updated list of milk products that were tested by the Bureau of foods and Drugs (BFAD) a branch of the Department of Health (DOH) in the Philippines.

 

Here is the excerpt of the email:

 

Department of Health (DOH) released a statement earlier today (October 3, 2008) that of the 30 milk brands that were already tested by Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD), two are only positive as containing melamine. Two brands are GREENFOOD YILI FRESH MILK and MENGNIU DRINK which have labels written in Chinese characters.

 

Here is the partial list of other products which are were found NEGATIVE for melamine content (total of 28 products):

 

Anchor Lite Milk
Anlene High Calcium, Low Fat Milk
Bear Brand Instant
Chic Choc Milk Chocolate
Farmland Skim Milk
Jinwei Drink
Jolly Cow Pure Fresh Milk
Kiddie Soya Milk Egg Delight
Lactogen 1 DHA Infant Formula
M&M Milk Chocolate Candy
M&M Peanut Chocolate Candy
Milk Boy
Nestagen 2 DHA Follow-up Formula
Nestagen 3 DHA Follow-up Formula
Nido 3 Plus Pre-bio with DHA
Nido Full Cream Milk Powder
Nido Junior
No Sugar Chocolate of Isomalt 2 Oligosaccharide (cocoa butter substitute)
Nutri Express Milk Drink
Pura Fresh Milk
Snickers (roasted in caramel nogut in thick milk chocolate)
Vitasoy Soya Milk Drink
Wahaha Orange
Wahaha Yellow
Want Want Milk Drink
Windmill Skim Milk Powder
Yinlu Milk Peanut
Yogi Yogurt Flavor Milk Drink

 

Complete list will be released by BFAD on Tuesday, October 7.

 

 

The end of the Ramadan season reached its culminating end this Wednesday, October 1 in the Philippines. Eid ul-Fitr or the holiday to break the fast is celebrated worldwide as a national holiday in Muslim countries and other countries that has recognizable Muslim population.

 

For our Muslim brothers and sisters, it marked the end of the month-long sacrifice for the Muslims by restraining from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.

 

The feast has no fixed date on the Gregorian calendar but according to Qur’an, the Eid-ul-Fitr is always celebrated on the first day of the Islamic lunar month of Shawwal.

 

This celebration is a national holiday in the Philippines and even the non-Muslim population take a break off from the normal working day.

There are plenty of personal or salary loan options available to the desperate consumer, but the hard part comes when you need to pay back the personal loan. If you’re looking to find an easy personal loan, it’s time to figure out what you consider easy.

Before you sign up for a personal loan, be sure you have or will have sufficient funds in your bank account to pay back the personal loan in the future. Failure to pay back the personal loan, bulk amount or interest, can cause you more problems than avoiding the easy personal loan from the beginning.

We all go through tough financial times in our lives, and the existence of a personal loan can ease the burden somewhat. Still, there are times when a personal loan seems like the only option, or you are experiencing a rare emergency situation and the only way to get fast cash is via a personal loan.

Before you think seriously about applying for an personal loan, find out if there is a better way to get the fast cash you need.

Might you be able to borrow the cash from a trusted friend or relative who will not charge interest? A personal loan will eventually need to be paid off, plus a certain percent interest added on top of the initial sum, so make sure you’ll be able to obtain these funds later before you apply for a personal loan.

Sometimes the interest charged on a personal loan will stun and overwhelm you once the dust has settled on the personal loan and it’s time to pay the company back. A good way to figure out if the website is right for you and your needs is to read the FAQ.