Decisions

Archive for July, 2008

1. Thou shalt deliver thy load on time:

a. Even when dispatched 5 minutes after delivery is due.
b. Night or day—whether black ice, deluge, fog, or flame.

2. Bestow pity upon thy dispatcher:

a. Whenever he proves himself a raving jackass…
b. Forgive him, for he is weak.

3. Honor thy truck:

a. Neither is it a damnable beast, nor doth it conspire against you; nor can it outrun the wind when screamed at.

4. Love the delivery dock:

a. Know the dock foreman’s black heart is filled with compassion.

b. Swampers & lumpers having hearts of gold, know that they seek but a pittance of your driving pay to unload your truck.

c. Salute the grocery warehouse for its dry and unsplintered pallets, its hospital cleanliness, and its cloistered silence.

d. Know you are not breaking down a thousand-piece load onto

a hundred “small wood” pallets, except to lighten the burden of that company’s next-day delivery costs.

e. Believe that you will leave this place of consequence overflowing with love for your fellow man, renewed for your next mission.

5. Doubt not your fellow drivers:

a. Know they are at all times of pure word and reason, and never will they use their radios to heap abuse upon your tiniest breach of driving etiquette.

b. Know the owner of the most splendidly decked out “large-car” will never cast aspersion on the fleet driver’s lumbering cab-over while sailing past. (Know also he may disguise his radio voice, so as to avoid any payback at the next truck stop.)

b. Always know your fellow driver drives more miles per week, earns more, is assigned better trips, and has an infinitely more perfect safety record—than you.

6. Doubt not your company:

a. They will always be there for you in a pinch.

b. If you can pee in a cup and pass, your trips will often flow through the home “yard” with its drug conformity office.

c. “Safety” will never assign you “points,” except when needed to demonstrate departmental accident awareness.

d. Management will experience zero turnover.

7. Welcome four-wheelers—a long hauler’s best friend:

a. Four-wheelers never change lanes without signaling, except on ramps, skinny roads, and highways.

b. Four-wheelers never pass on the right, except when they need to squeeze blindly out in front of you into the hammer lane.

c. Four-wheelers never pass you on a downhill run.

d. Four-wheelers never block you heading into a hill.

e. Four-wheelers never slip you the finger.

8. Fear not truck stops:

a. They have only your comfort, convenience, and wallet in mind.

b. Fuel prices will be shoved up only mincingly, until they cry out for total omission—for driver violence is a blot on fuel counter operations.

c. Pity your waitress for her rotten disposition, her children alone at home, the miserable $5 tip you will leave her, and the evil chef who warms up the garbage she presents you.

d. Pity the shower attendants, who must swab worn shower receptacles with their filthy mops, gathering chips of soap from the drain covers, squeezing them into tiny balls and placing them in the trays of freshly prepared shower rooms.

e. Pity those enfeebled drivers trapped in electronic game rooms, bashing knobs, levers, and pedals, as if still in their trucks mashing knobs, levers, and pedals.

Notice: Above Creed should not be taken as a dire word of warning to anyone who dares pick up and wear the banner of the Long Haul Trucker. Rendered in the spirit of driverly cooperation…take this information as equal in value to the cost of its acquisition.

About the Author:
Richard Ide is a writer of realistic, action-adventure and romantic-suspense fiction. On May 26th, 2008, Button Top Books released 3 ACES, his first published work. Now available on http://Amazon.com or by special order (ISBN: 978-0-615-15821-1) in bookstores. For more information on Richard and 3 Aces, visit: http://www.3acesthenovel.com.

Keyword tags: truck driving, trucks, trucker\\\’s creed, long haul trucker, fiction

Last week, Harriet Harman announced new equality laws to tackle widespread discrimination. Under these new plans, age discrimination would be removed from all aspects of society, and further changes would be made to prevent workplaces from discriminating against minorities. There is also room for ‘positive action’ that allows business to hire women or minorities without fear of legal action if the candidates are equal in terms of ability.

But how do these changes to the equality law differ from how we act now?

What is actually so different?

The main points of the proposed bill are that:

– Business will be allowed to discriminate in favour of ethnicities and genders underrepresented in their place of work if interview candidates were of equal ability.

– Clauses in contracts that prevent staff discussing their wages with colleagues will be scrapped.

– Age discrimination laws will be widened to encompass the world outside the workplace.

There are also proposals on the table to make public bodies publish the pay gap within their organizations.

Why is the new system being introduced?

The new discrimination laws are being proposed in order to make a more balanced workforce in Britain, hence employers will be able to discriminate in favour of one group ahead of another given two equally matched candidates to diversify their work environment (contrary to tabloid implication, this actually works both ways, and a predominantly female office would be allowed to discriminate in favour of a male candidate).

The section affecting the wages of companies is being included to try and reduce the massive pay gap between men and women on business contracts. Although the gap has narrowed in recent years according to official figures, on average women still only earn 87p for every £1 that men earn. One of the statistics that Harriet Harman has used is that female part-time workers earn up to 40% less than their full time male counterparts. By making companies more open about their wage structures, it is hoped that the gap will close naturally.

Finally, the laws affecting age are aimed at tackling the discrimination people feel based on their age in their daily lives.

Isn’t discriminating against age already illegal?

While workplace age discrimination has been legislated against since 2006, the proposed new equality laws are intended to tackle wider forms of ageism. This is planned to tackle the often costly discrimination that pensioners face in their daily life, from high insurance premiums to doctors putting illnesses down to their age and refusing treatment.

What are the main caveats of the new law?

The important things to bear in mind when thinking on the prospective changes are:

– Firms may be forced to publish pay rates

– Positive action is only an option in interviews where candidates are equally matched and will not be compulsory in any event.

– Some areas will likely be exempt from the age discrimination laws, such as free bus passes for the elderly and holidays for the over 50s and 18-30s.

Given the uproar that’s been made against the positive action section of the bill, it’s not guaranteed that every part of the bill will ever become law. Even if it does become law, it’s almost impossible to put a stop of workplace discrimination, because you can’t know with any certainty what an employer’s reason for passing over a candidate is. For most of us, this legislation will mean very little to our business contracts, and we can carry on picking the best candidate for the job regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality or age.

About the Author:
Iain Mackintosh is the managing director of Simply-Docs (http://www.simply-docs.co.uk/). The firm provides over 1100 business contracts covering all aspects of business from equal opportunities in the workplace to non-disclosure agreements. By providing these legal documents (with content provided by leading commercial lawyers, HR and health & safety consultants) at an affordable price, the company intends to help small businesses avoid costly breaches of regulation and legal action.

Keyword tags: luxury golf holiday to Portugal, golf courses near Lisbon, golf courses in portugal

Do you find all the different kinds of life insurance policies that are available confusing? Why can there not be just one that answers to all your life insurance needs? Unfortunately, you have do to do some research and make a few decisions concerning this.

Unit link insurance policy: The unit link insurance policy is the most popular choice. Your insurance premium is divided between insurance coverage and an investment fund. This type of policy is unfortunately expensive when compared to other types of policies.

Whole life insurance: This policy provides you with life insurance coverage for your entire life, or for a maximum of 100 years of age. Your insurance premium is also divided between pure coverage and an investment fund. This fund builds up a cash value over time. This is the sum of money that is paid by the insurer to insured if you should cancel the policy before your death.

Term life insurance: This type is cheaper than straight life insurance policies. Your premium is not divided between life coverage and a investment fund. Therefore it gathers no cash surrender value and only provides coverage. Term does however give you a bigger face value amount than other types of life insurance.

Universal life insurance: This policy offers you the cheaper coverage of term policies while also combining it with an investment fund. Therefore this policy can build up a cash surrender value. A universal policy also allows you to use the interest from your investment to help you pay your premiums. You are also allowed to shift funds between the coverage and investment sections of a universal policy. This may grant you more flexibility in managing your life insurance.

Child life insurance: These are a group of policies that target the coverage needs of children and their caregivers. These may include term life as well as ordinary life policies. Generally this gives your child guaranteed future insurance. There are of course many different opinions about the true value of child life insurance. Some insurers advocate it while others question its validity.

A common mistake some people make is to have too much life insurance. You need a substantial amount of coverage during the years when your household is growing in order to protect your spouse and children from the possible loss of income that may occur as a result of your death. However, your insurance needs will decrease as you age and as your children leaves the household and after you have paid off your mortgage. Then you can think about decreasing your amount of life insurance coverage.

Another lesser mistake is to borrow money against the policy in the form of a policy loan. This may sound reasonable at first, but keep in mind that you have to repay the loan and that the loan actually decreases the amount of coverage available for your household. You do not buy a life insurance plan in order to borrow money from it.

If you are worried about your life insurance coverage, you may or may not want to contact a life insurance coverage lawyer. He may be able to help you safely navigate the confusing twists and turns of the insurance world.

About the Author:
Copyright 2008 – Daniel Theron. It can be more affordable to ask a life insurance coverage lawyer to handle your life insurance. http://lifeinsurancecoveragelawyer.com/

Keyword tags: insurance,life,coverage,policy,lawyer

Debt relief seems to be an elusive el Dorado for those in debt. Many myths and fictions circulate around debts and it is important to separate fact from fiction so that you get the real picture. Frankly, the situation is not as dismal as it seems, there are various ways in fact to obtain debt relief and lighten your load. Let’s handle the popular debt relief myths one by one and see how far they hold water:

First, it is not true that you have to repay the entire amount. These days, it is possible to get your debt reduced. You can arrive at a compromise with your creditors. Chances are that they will receive nothing if you become bankrupt, in that case they might be willing to settle for less than the original amount.

Second, it is not true that you can never escape bad credit. On the surface, it may look like there is no way out from bad credit. But, in fact, you can improve your debt. By incurring personal loans and paying interest regularly you can prove the fact that yours is not an entirely hopeless debt.

Third, it is not true that you can not get a personal loan without collateral. What you do not get minus collateral is a secured personal loan. Unsecured loans mean that you will be lent money only on the basis of your word of honor. And you have to agree to whatever terms and conditions they impose.

We have effectively destroyed some of the popular misconceptions regarding debt relief. Let’s now turn to a few tips to help you out in those dark days of debt:

The first thing to do is to set yourself a budget, don’t worry, a budget does not mean that you restrain yourself from enjoying any thing at all. A planned budget helps you gain control and surveillance over you expenditures. That way you can stop you debt problem from going haywire. Most people are scared of budgets because they think it would stop them from doing anything that involves spending money that is not really the case.

A budget means discipline, not abstinence. You can still go ahead and spend a little extra money on something you really fancy, only now, try to cut down on some other expenditure to make up for it. For example, say you like a car, then you can buy it, provided you can compromise on some other essential expenditure.

Last, if the problem is getting out of hand, don’t try to handle it on your own, seek advice and guidance not only from friends but also qualified debt counselors. Otherwise it may affect you mental health adversely.

Each debt relief solution cant work for everybody, it varies from person too person, from situation to situation. Try to locate the solution that suits you and follow it.

See the change within a few months. So do not give up hope yet, debts can be handled positively.

About the Author:
Article written by Jessica Bradbury, she has a site dedicated to botton line information at http://www.mydebtandcredit.com

Keyword tags: debt relief

If you are concerned about how you would be able to pay your mortgage and loan repayments if you should become unemployed then you need to give some thought to taking out a payment protection policy. There are different types that will provide redundancy protection and can make your life a lot easier while you search around for work.

The biggest monthly outgoing that the majority of us have to be able to maintain each month is the mortgage. If you cannot keep up with this payment then the chances of losing your home are great. The lender will send a letter if you miss just one payment. If you miss another and do not contact them and cannot come to an agreement to continue paying on time and catch up on the arrears, then repossession will be just a matter of weeks away. You can ensure that you would not have to worry about anything like this if you take out either mortgage payment protection as redundancy insurance or income payment protection.

Mortgage cover as redundancy protection would do just what the name suggests. It would allow you to insure your mortgage payment up to so much and then this would be the tax-free sum that you would get back if and when you needed to put in a claim. If you go with a provider that offers age based premiums then the younger you are the bigger savings you will be able to make on the premiums and in some cases you would be able to get your premiums for up to 40% less. Mortgage cover is usually offered when taking the borrowing with the lender. However premiums are know to be high if you take it added onto the policy.

Income payment protection can be taken to insure not only your mortgage but also any other essential outgoings such as loan repayments or credit card repayments. It also covers outgoings such as grocery, heat and light which are needed for the family to be able to function and maintain their current lifestyle. You are able to take cover for up to a certain amount of your income and then fall back on the payment. If you just needed to cover loan and credit card repayments then you could look at loan payment protection. This would just provide you with the income you paid out in loan repayments each month and would be enough to stop you from getting into debt.

Your redundancy protection would start to payout from between the 30th and the 90th day of you being unemployed and some providers backdate to the first day of you becoming unemployed. Following this you would receive an income each month for between 12 and 24 months which is usually enough to have found work again. However despite the fact of whether you were back in work or not after this period, the policy would cease. Checking the exclusions that all providers add-into their cover is imperative as this will determine whether cover would be suitable. Providing you take the information that all ethical payment protection specialists supply and compare it, then you will have something to use as a safety net if you should become one of the statistics of redundancy.

About the Author:
Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance (http://www.britishinsurance.com), a specialist provider of low cost income payment protection insurance (PPI), mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) and loan payment protection insurance.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI

You are able to cover redundancy in a variety of ways by looking at the payment protection policies that a standalone provider offers. The type of policy most suitable for your needs will depend on your circumstances and the outgoings that you have to make each month.

The majority of people have mortgage repayments to keep up with and it is essential not to fall behind on them. Arrears with the mortgage that you cannot catch up on will lead to the lender repossessing your home and you being evicted. Just one missed mortgage payment means you have broken the contract you signed with the lender and they will want to know when you are going to be able to catch up. If you fail to make an agreement with the lender then repossession will be imminent.

There are two policies that can be chosen to insure that you would have the mortgage repayment each month. The first policy you could consider is mortgage payment protection insurance. This would just cover your payment each month and the premium would be decided on the amount you insured and your age when applying. Age based mortgage protection means that even those who have taken out a huge mortgage would be able to afford to protect it.

Income payment protection can also cover redundancy and would mean you are able to keep up with your mortgage. This type of policy would also give you the peace of mind needed when it came to all other essential outgoings that needed to be kept up with. You could pay any loan or credit card outgoings and this would keep your credit file from being affected. It would also ensure that the lender would not take you to court and could stop you from obtaining a County Court Judgement. It could also prevent you from suffering the indignity of having bailiffs take your possessions to sell. You would also be able to provide food, heat and light for your family without having to do any juggling of bills or make changes to your lifestyle.

Loan repayment could be kept on top of with loan payment protection. This would keep your credit file straight and as a good credit rating is needed when borrowing in the future this could save you the embarrassment of being turned down. It will also stop the lender from taking you to court to claim back what you owe.

All types of policies taken to cover redundancy would start and end depending on the provider. Some policies might payout your tax-free income after 30 days of unemployment, other providers might stipulate you wait 90 days before putting in your claim. You would then receive an income each month for a certain period; this again differs depending on the provider. Some provider’s give you a payment each month for 12 months; others might extend this and give you 24 monthly payments. Along with checking this in the terms and conditions you also have to check to see what the exclusions are. All providers will put some in and the amount can vary but these have to be checked against your circumstances if you are to be sure of being eligible to make a claim.

About the Author:
Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance (http://www.britishinsurance.com), a specialist provider of low cost income payment protection insurance (PPI), mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) and loan payment protection insurance.

Keyword tags: Income Protection Insurance, Mortgage Protection Insurance, MPPI, PPI