Welcome To My World

Life is a beach! ;)

VoIP Is Here To Stay!

By: Glenda Schloff

Companies and consumers that switch to VoIP Technology for their telephone services will never look
back. I know. I use it myself. My husband travels for his place of employment and calls me every night.
I got really tired of high telephone bills. So I decided to check VoIP technology out. Well, I'll never look
back. I'm extremely pleased with the service I receive. Not to mention the savings!

I chose to get a small business plan which costs a bit more than their residential plan, but I still save over
half of my previous telephone bills. It's wonderful! The only downside is that if my power goes out, I have
no telephone. No computer either though. ;~) I've only had a couple of instances where I lost power so
far and each time was for a very short period.

VoIP is the wave of the future that is here now! The first businesses that offer VoIP Technology stand to
make huge profits as more and more people learn about the savings they'll incur versus landline telephone
service.

VoIP providers have had a challenge regarding 911 services, but now offer E911 to their customers which
has been mandated by the government.

The only "fly" in the ointment is that if folks with DSL access through their local phone company were to
drop their service, they would lose their broadband connection. But then could sign up with their local cable
company to get high-speed internet and the added cost would more than offset by the reduction in their VoIP
telephone bill.

More and more consumers that are self-employed, small businesses and home businesses are turning to
broadband (VoIP) telephone service. There are many more advantages that cost less than landline telephone
services. As I stated earlier, I'll never look back. I'm sure in a very short time that all the bugs will be worked
out and we'll be seeing a stampede to get VoIP services.

You can get your voicemails delivered to your email which is great! You don't have to have a telephone to get
your voicemail! Landline phone companies charge you a fee for each service you want to have whereas with
VoIP providers these features are built right in!

So! When you begin shopping for your VoIP Provider, make sure you do your due diligence before putting
your new number on all of your business materials.

Ask others that have the service what their opinions are. Do they like it? Is the service what they had hoped
for? What are their dislikes?

Try it out for awhile to see if you will like it or not, and make sure the provider you choose offers a 30 day
money-back guarantee. Here's another great reason to get VoIP: If you call others that have VoIP service
with the same provider, those calls are free. Say if your brother is in the Orient and you are in the United
States and you both have VoIP with the same provider, you can talk as long as you like for FREE!! You
can't beat that!

As stated before there are a couple of drawbacks, but those can be overcome. The benefits far outweigh
the risks in my opinion. If your power tends go out a lot you can keep a basic plan with your landline
telephone or use a cell phone. This would also be wise to have your local 911 emergency service available.
Some VoIP providers now provide E911 services, but it isn't as fast yet as calling your local 911 service.
I hope that someday soon this will be corrected.

VoIP Technology can be an asset to anyone. It will save you money and keeps the cost of having a
landline phone inexpensive while still allowing us to communicate without having to rely cell phones alone.

Next time you get your huge phone bill from your phone company, take another look at digital phone and
Voip Technology. You will be surprised at how much you can save! You won't regret it or ever look
back! It can only get better from here!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glenda Schloff - is a self educated Internet business woman, who truly
understands that the learning process never ends. This is clearly demonstrated
in the content she provides her readers. Her mission is to educate, motivate,
inspire and empower others toward personal and professional success.
Glenda Schloff is the owner of www.glendaschloff.com and
http://www.wealthpreneur.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Post Comment  |  Read Comments (4)

Mother Nature

Well, Hubby is gone and it's time to get back to work.   Ken's time home passed so swiftly, it was almost like he wasn't even here. 

We are getting wind storm after wind storm after wind storm.  Getting a bit ooollllddddd Mother Nature!  We're getting around an inch a day of rain. Flood warnings constantly.

After each of the first two storms, Ken and I drove to the beach at Shore Acres National Park and I got some spectacular photos. Check out My Picture Gallery.  Click on:  Ocean Shores to see all of the photos I took, they're just gorgeous.

It's 2006! Part Two

NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." The lyrics can be found here.

Copyright © 2005 by Jerry Wilson. Used with Permission.
Also available on the Web at www.wilstar.com

~~~

NEXUS is having a great contest!  If you become the 750th member,
you and the sponsoring member will win a great prize!

It's 2006!

...but for what reason?

ANCIENT NEW YEARS
The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

~~~

Part One

No Newer Entries No Older Entries