Friends Reunited

There is nothing more wonderful than having two friends reunited after years of being apart. Next to family, friends are the most important things in our lives. Losing your best friend could sometimes be the hardest thing you ever have to go through.

If you are looking to reunite with your friend whom you have not seen in a long time, looking at the members' database of websites that specialize in friend searches is the first step you should take. These websites are an easy place to register, or look for people who you have not been in contact with for years.

Perhaps it is an old classmate you are looking for, but you have no idea where to start looking. There have been many success stories of long time friends reuniting after years of separation with the help of the Internet. There are literally thousands of different websites available to help you look for your special someone.

These websites contain databases that allow you to search the specific school they went to, as well as their current contact information. With today's advanced level of information technology, finding someone is not very hard to do. You will succeed in reuniting with your friends as long as you are determined enough, regardless of how far apart you are you can arrange a reunion.

If you fail to locate a database where your friend is registered, try the nationwide white pages available on the Internet. Every directory in the country is part of a nationwide database that is accessible. The only thing you will need is the person's name, and certain details to aid in the search. From there, you will be able to get that person's contact information. With that information you will be able to set up a reunion.

The happiest sight is seeing two best friends reunited after years of separation. This scenario is repeated hundreds of times every day. With the aid of the Internet, it is easier than ever to locate people you have not seen in a long time. With a little effort on your part, you could be the one reuniting with your long lost friend.

Barramundi Fishing in Australia

Barramundi Fishing is one of the favorite past times of many Australian fishermen. Not only are Barramundi known for their spectacular aerobatics when hooked but they are one of the better table fish found in Australian waters.

Name                                     
Barramundi
Lates calcarifer

Other names                      
Barra, Silver Barramundi, Giant Perch, Palmer Perch

Habitat 
In Australian waters Barramundi Fishing is mainly on the north coast from the Pilbara through the Kimberley and the Northern Territory and Cape York and also down the Queensland coast as far south as Fraser Island. Barramundi Fishing is also popular in south East Asia, China and the Persian Gulf. The Barramundi can be found in creeks, rivers and estuaries in clear or turbid waters. It is listed as a freshwater fish but can commonly be found in estuarine waters.

Size                                        
Barramundi have been known to grow in excess of 60kg or 1.8 m but is more commonly caught in the 10-20kg and between 70cm to 1.2m range. It is illegal to catch Barramundi under 55 cm in the Northern Territory and 58cm in Queensland.

Feeding                                  
Barramundi eat a range of food including fishes, shrimp, crayfish, crab and aquatic insects and they are mainly but not exclusively nocturnal feeders.

Seasons                                 
Barramundi Fishing is most productive when the water is warmer in the north of Australia. From September to December the weather builds up when the air and water temperatures and humidity levels increase. The other best time of year for Barramundi Fishing is the run off when the wet season winds down from late March and the water is running off the flood plains. In some areas it is illegal to intentionally catch Barramundi over the wet season.

Breeding                                
Barramundi are born as males and then transform into female for breeding at around five years. They grow to maturity in the upper reaches of freshwater rivers then migrate downstream, often during flooding to estuaries and coastal waters for spawning.

Description                            
The Barramundi has a pointed head, concave forehead, a large jaw extending behind the eye and a rounded caudel fin. It has a first dorsal fin with seven or eight strong spines and a second soft-rayed dorsal fin with ten or eleven rays.

Adult Barramundi are blue to green-grey dorsally, silvery on the sides and white below. Juveniles are mottled brown with a distinct white strip from the dorsal fin to the snout.

How to catch them
Barramundi Fishing is held in high regard by recreational anglers as they are a strong and large fighting fish often known for its spectacular acrobatics and leaps when hooked.

They are also a splendid eating fish especially if they have spent the majority of their lives in flowing, clearer waters.
A favorite haunt for Barra is amongst mangroves and around submerged logs and other overhangs where it waits to ambush  pray. Barramundi prefer larger waters with a slow continuous flow and water temperatures above 20 C.
The Barra will hit the lure or fly hard and run for the snags and the fisherman is usually the loser if the fish gets there.
Barramundi are nocturnal feeders, but like most fish they are usually active at change of light or tide. Barramundi Fishing is also popular during the day when they are opportunistic feeders.
 
Hot Spots
The Kimberley Rivers such as the Fitzroy near Broome and the Pentecost and King rivers near Wyndham and the Ord, Victoria and Keep rivers near Kununurra are popular with Barramundi Fishing. The Ord in particular being known for big Barramundi in excess of one meter.

Most of the Northern Territory coastal rivers and estuaries are great for Barramundi Fishing. The Katherine and Daly rivers flowing to the west coast are popular with fishermen chasing big Barramundi. The Daly hosts two dedicated Barramundi Fishing festivals each year. The Mary, Wildman and Adelaide rivers and the South and East Alligator rivers flow to the north between Darwin and Kakadu and are easily accessible Barra fishing rivers.
                                               
Arnhemland is a huge Aboriginal owned area occupying the North East coastal area of the NT. A permit is required to enter Arnhemland which is difficult to obtain for free traveling. The Liverpool river coastal region at Maningrida is one of the best Barramundi Fishing areas in the country and a first class fishing lodge operates here giving anglers access to the incredible Barramundi fishing of the region.
                                               
The Tiwi Islands north of Darwin are also great for Barramundi Fishing. Again they are only accessible with a permit and an excellent fishing lodge operates on Melville Island. On the west coast the McArthur and the Roper River accessed from near Borroloola are excellent Barramundi Fishing locations but again are quite isolated.

Queensland is also a Barramundi Fishing heaven. The Albert and Leichardt rivers near Burktown and Karumba at the bottom of the Gulf of Carpentaria are excellent Barra rivers.
 
All the rivers of Cape York are also productive Barramundi rivers in particular the west coast rivers such as the Jackson, Cotterel, Skardon and Jardin.

At the Top of the Cape is the huge Jackey Jackey system which is quite simply Barramundi Fishing heaven. All of the rivers flowing east from the ranges to the Coral Sea north of the Tropic of Capricorn at Rockhampton are also great Barramundi rivers.

These are just a few of the many excellent Barramundi Fishing locations in the North of Australia. Just do not make the mistake of focusing solely on Barra as the rich tropical waters of the north are home to over 50 more commonly caught sports fish. Jewfish, Salmon, Cobia, Cod, Groper, Coral Trout, Giant and Golden Trevally, Snapper, Tuna and Mangove Jack just to name a few.
 
Equipment
Barramundi Fishing can be undertaken by casting lures to structure such as submerged logs, rock bars and overhanging banks. Barramundi are basically lazy fish and mostly will not put in too much effort to catch a feed so casting needs to be tight. Barramundi can also be caught by fly fishing and by trolling and they can be tough on gear so make sure you have the best.
                                               
Lure casting and trolling

Solid Baitcaster rod and reel
Up to 20lb braid line with up to 50lb leader
Lures to suite. There are literally hundreds of Barramundi Fishing lures on the market and everyone swears by a different type. Gold, brown, blue and red seem to be popular choices in colour and what ever you get should swim at least two meters deep if not deeper. Visit a local tackle shop before you set out and ask them what works best locally.

Fly fishing gear should include the following;

8/9 weight saltwater rod
Appropriate reel with at least 200m of 15-20kg backing. Braid is best.
Flyline- intermediate and/or floating weight forward.
Class leader 1-1.5m of 6-10 kilo
Shock tippet of .5 m of 20kg mono
Popular Flies include Leftys Deceivers (white, green, yellow), Clouser minnow  in white/red and black/gold, Pink Things, Poppers such as frog imitations, Polar Fiber Minnow, Gold Bomber, Crazy Charlie

Best Barramundi Fishing destinations

Arnhemland in the Northern Territory
The Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory  
Cape York in Northern Queensland  
The Kimberley Ord River region in Western Australia   

Hunting Monoculars

The monocular has become quite a popular item since they were first made available for retail sale to the private citizen. Long before the general public was able to purchase one they were used primarily within the military and law enforcement community for intelligence gathering, target acquisition, and in the latter's case surveillance. Hunting monoculars and night monoculars have proven to be an invaluable tool for hunters and adventurers. In addition to people using monoculars for hunting, they also use them for bird watching, hiking, at sports events, and even for keeping an eye on ones property too.

In this day and age, there are several different kinds of optical equipment that you can use for your hobbies or interests. For example, you can use high-powered binoculars for bird watching, hunting, hiking, or at sports and festival events too. Night vision gear like night vision goggles are used by the hunters as well as by the military and law enforcement agencies. However, hunting monoculars equipped with as well as without night vision can perform those same tasks with the same quality, you do not have to carry larger, and heavier equipment with the same options or features because they are compact.

Another great feature of hunting monoculars that will be of benefit to you is that since it is so compact that you can carry one easily. Depending on what you are using your monocular for there are a variety of ways in which to carry your monocular too. If you are in law enforcement, security, or a hunter you can easily carry a hunting monocular or night vision monocular safely in a pouch on a tactical vest or web gear. A strap that goes around your neck or wrist can carry some monoculars. You can even slip your monocular into your pocket and it will not be too big to fit.

Hunting monoculars also have another benefit that might be of interest to you as a potential consumer and that benefit is less strain on your eyes, which can reduce vision quality. The reason that a monocular is good for your eyes is the fact that they are made of quality high tech lenses. In addition to the lenses being of excellent quality, features like focus and zoom are easy to use. Some of these units even have digital range finders and digital temp meters that are easy to read decreasing eyestrain. Monoculars with night vision capability such as light/image enhancement and infrared take strain off of the eyes too.

There is also one other benefit to owning a monocular rather than owning other types of optical gear is the prices. While it is true that hunting monoculars and night monoculars can be very expensive especially with some name brand equipment, you can still find these units at very affordable prices. You can go out shopping for sales or deals on monoculars and you will probably find what you want at the price you want, but you might do a lot of walking. An easier way to shop for these items is to go online and research what you want and need before you buy and get great deals on monoculars too.

The top 10 tourist attractions in the United States

If you where to take a guess, without researching into it, do you think you could name the top 10 visited tourist attractions located within the continental United States? It is not as difficult as you may think. If you watch television news or read the newspaper you may not have that much trouble. Each of the 48 continental states as well as Alaska and Hawaii have attractions that draw large numbers of visitors annually. With the escalating cost of air travel, a number of families are resorting back to the road trip for their family vacation plans.

What are the top 10 attractions which are most visited?

I guess it would come as no surprise that the number one visitor attraction in the United States is a shopping mall. Mall of America in Bloomington, MN attracts over 40,000,000 shoppers and visitors per year. In addition to being a shopping mall, it also sports the largest indoor amusement park in the U.S.

New York City is a major draw for millions of people every year and Times Square in Manhattan New York is the second most visitor attraction in the U.S. with approximately 37,600,000 visitors.

Gambling is a popular vice amongst the world's citizenry so the fact that 30,000,000 visitors converge on Las Vegas, NV every year should not be any surprise. Las Vegas has been transformed from an adult only destination to a family vacation attraction.

Historical Boston, MA has the fourth most visited tourist attraction with Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Every year 20,000,000 plus vacationer's land there and take a step back into time.

The fifth and sixth most popular destination attractions are part of the same family and locations that nearly everyone has taken their children to at least once during their childhood. They are Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, FL and Disneyland Park in Anaheim, CA. Disney World's Magic Kingdom attracts just over 17,100,000 visitors annually, while Disneyland Park host approximately 14.75 million visitors. The combined attractions of Disney properties makes it the second most visited tourist attractions of America.

The southern states can not be from the list of the top 10 sites in the United States are excluded, as already mentioned, including Disney World Magic Kingdom in Florida, with South Carolina and North Carolina moves to welcome tourism seventh and eighth.

South Carolina Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beachreceives over 14,000,000 visitors to its plush resort areas and North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway's wilderness exhibits pulls in a whopping 11,000,000 individuals longing to relive the early settlers trek.

Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA ranks in at number 9 with slightly over 10,000,000 travelers longing to watch how a turn of the century fish market once operated. And another water attraction, The Navy Pier in Chicago, IL generating roughly 8,600,000 guest closes out the list at number 10.

How many did you get right?

As the summer travel season launches into full swing, what better time is it to plan your family vacation. Determining which attraction to visit becomes easier when you know what is in your intended destination. With this information, based upon your likes and dislikes, you now know where to go, if you like crowds and where to avoid if you do not. I trust this information has been of some help.

How to win customers from competitors key and make them buy from you instead

Let's face it. If you are in sales, like I am, we would all be very interested to increase our market share. Even when the market is growing, we sure would like to have a piece of our competitor's business. However, when we were to approach our competitor, these are the more common responses:

* "Yes we are interested, but can it be cheaper?"

* "I already got a better price from your competitor"

* "What you are offering is good, but I'm quite happy with what I have now", etc.

While customers are constantly looking for better conditions, they inadvertently cause the price. At the same time, sales people who are desperate for the facts and figures taken inadvertently agree on the price that hardly acceptable. But even if you could offer a very attractive price, not your competitors are large customers willing to pay more attention to you.

"Why do you need to buy from us, aside from the price"

In an attempt to ensure that customers buy manysales people often give customers a whole list of selling points so that customers see the seller's Unique Selling Propositions (USPs) and other product advantages. For the uninitiated, here are some examples:

* "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight!" (Federal Express)

* "Pizza delivered in 30 minutes or it's free." (Dominos Pizza)

* "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" (M&M's)

Unfortunately, life isn't as simple. Whatever products you deliver, your competitors can do so too, and at lower prices. This is why customers keep on referring back to price, since they could not differentiate between you and your competitors, at least superficially.

The good news is that customers do NOT just buy from price only. In our discussions with a number of buyers (or procurement managers), we do find that they usually DON'T buy from the cheapest nor the most expensive quotations, not even in public tenders. What they do really want is to get the best "value for money" or have better "reasons to buy".

As we probe deeper, here are some of the factors that make up customers' perception or definition of "value" or "reasons to buy" apart from price, which you can call the 4 "R"s:

* Reliability. Whether you, as the seller, can deliver your promises in ALL aspects ranging from product quality, delivery lead times, maintenance schedules etc.

* Responsiveness. Not just service responsiveness, but also sales team's responsiveness to the customers' needs and concerns. This also includes sales people who are stationed on-site at the customers' plants, offices or facilities to help customers solve problems when using your products

* Resourcefulness. Can you take the initiative to generate creative ideas to help your customers do more with less resources? Can you get the buy-in from your own company to support your customers' objectives?

* Relationship. Apart from cultivating guanxi with some key decision makers, seek to build relationship with everyone that has an influence over whether this customer should or should not buy from you. These people include the gatekeepers, fault-finders, end users, and just about anyone who will be affected by the products you provide, or who has some contributions with regards to how your products can be used (or not be used) in their company.

"What IF I Don't Buy from You?"

The reason that your prospective customer is not buying from you yet, is that they haven't seen the negative consequences of NOT buying from you yet. In their minds, they are subconsciously asking "What IF I don't buy from you?" And if your sales team doesn't have a good response to that question, you won't get the deal.

Supposed your company is a leading provider of an industrial equipment that is "mission critical" to a certain part of your customer's operating process. The situation that you are facing can be prioritised as : Follow

1. Compounds. Customers purchasing manager has a strong relationship with your competitors, which is the incumbent. Competitors also sold 15% below the target price. However, it seems that your opponent has no relationship to significant others, particularly in the final planning and director / production grew.

2. Reliability. While the equipment your competitors' offers reliable performance in day to day, but security cancompromised if there's an accident, such as a fire. Since the customer is not so much concerned about the possibilities of "accidents", they view your competitor's product as being Reliable.

3. Responsiveness. Your competitor is Responsive when it comes to maintenance and repairs, but their sales people only drops by when they are taking sales orders. They are rarely on-site to provide assistance and insights if the end-users encounter problems and difficulties.

4. Resourcefulness. While many players in your customer's industry are taking steps to upgrade their plants and equipment to achieve higher levels of safety, your customer has yet to do so since they deem the upgrading too expensive. Your competitor has yet to give a good response to this issue.

Most sales people following on this customer would have lost the sale, since the competitor has a strong relationship with the procurement manager, sells at a lower price and is perceived to be reliable. What you can do is to give priority to new approach

1. Ingenuity. Since the main obstacle for the customer to improve their equipment is cheap, perhaps, can do what the sales team to implement a way for the customer, the process of modernization in small steps, so that their development costs to be spread over time.

2. Reactivity. Your sales staff can help the end user customer premises, end-users solve problems in everyday use, even if the operation of yourcompetitor's equipment. Such problems and your suggested solutions can then be documented and be presented to their head of engineering/ production, and explore if you can help them eliminate some of the recurring problems.

3. Reliability. Your sales team's Responsiveness is going to enhance the trust between you and your customer, such that they will be more convinced that they need better Reliability in case of accidents and emergencies. Your Resourcefulness will also convince them that it may not cost as much initially if they want to upgrade part of their production system first.

4. Relationship. By leveraging your Resourcefulness, Responsiveness and Reliability, even if the customer's procurement manager has a strong Relationship with the incumbent competitor, the voices in the customer's organisation will switch to your favour. By developing Relationships with the end users and other key influencers, you can even influence how the scope of their next public tender can be written in your favour.

So to answer the customer's question of "What if I don't buy from you", you can confidently state that they will incur more losses and subject themselves to more danger IF they stick to their current vendor. It may be in their best interest to start working with you and your team.

"What if I Want All You can Offer, and Still Demand a Lower Price as well?"

At this point, some sales people will say that there will be customers who will demand that we deliver the results through better Resourcefulness, Responsiveness, Reliability and Relationship, and yet still want us to sell at the same price as those who don't.

Well, if that is your only customer, or one of your few key customers, then perhaps they know that they are paying your bills. Hence, they will squeeze you real hard if they know you need them much more than they need you.

However, if you have a good prospecting process that allows you to generate enough leads, you can stand firm and insist on your prices. Chances are that if a customer is haggling with you over price, that usually means that they are interested in buying from you. If you stood firm and refuse to give in, you have a 50/50 chance of still winning the deal.

If you have a number of high quality leads in your sales pipeline, that will be a risk that may be worthwhile to take. The ones that are willing to give you a try will be more than worth your effort.

Online People Finder or Traditional Investigative Procedures: Which Is the Best?

In recent times, a large share of people are giving preference to the people finder service available on internet over the traditional investigating forms like newspaper ads, radio and television announcements or private investigation. These traditional forms of searching people are both lingering and expensive. On the other hand, the online people finders are both less expensive and take only a few seconds to present all the necessary info in front of you.

When it comes to websites with database about people living in USA, there are numerous options available on the internet. The purpose of searching varies. However, if the website is a good one, it will solve all your purposes. On most occasions people use these services for locating a long lost friend or a relative who is not in touch with you for a long time. You may require the address and phone number of a friend or family member for inviting him at an upcoming celebration or get-together. If you use services like Newspaper ad or announcement in the electronic media for the purpose, you will have to spend a big amount. Other than that, these procedures cannot assure you that the required person will notice your advertisement. So, using the online people finder service stands out among the available options.

You may also require whereabouts of a person with criminal history. If you use the media for the purpose, there's a possibility that the person you are searching for gets alert. On the other hand, if you use the online people finder databases, you can get all required information keeping the process absolutely confidential. Here also, you can complete the search at a lower cost. Some websites also provide information without any charge, but if you want absolutely authentic information it's better to go for a charged one.

Living In Orlando, The Sweet Spot Of Florida

Orlando Florida is known by some as the vacation capital of the world and it certainly is a great place to vacation with major theme parks such as Universal Studios, Sea World, Islands Of Adventure and of course the mother of all theme parks, Walt Disney World. But not only is Orlando a great place to vacation, Orlando is a great place to live.

With a population of more than 200,000 people that call Orlando home, there are some top notch cultural, sporting, dining, entertainment and shopping experiences to really enjoy. You can take in the Orlando Museum Of Art, the Orlando Science Center, the Orlando Ballet, the Florida Film Festival, the Orlando Opera and more for the cultural side of your mind. The Orlando Museum Of Art is my favorite and features world class art exhibits from around the globe. It has been mentioned by Newsweek magazine as one of the top museums in the South.

Or if sporting events are your thing, come watch the UCF Golden Knights play this season's home football schedule at their new stadium known as Bright House Networks Stadium. The Orlando Magic play at Amway Arena in downtown Orlando if you are a basketball fan or if you can't get enough football, the Predators play arena football in the same stadium. Other large concert and entertainment events frequent the arena as well.

And if you want something to do at night then world famous Church Street in Downtown Orlando is the place to go. With venues such as music clubs, bars, comedy clubs, dance clubs and more, you are sure to find something to do to feed your nightlife needs.

Yes, Orlando is the vacation capital of the world, but just because you live here doesn't mean you can't participate in some of what brings millions of people here each year. International drive is bursting with fun, shopping, dining and attractions for everyone that enjoys a good time. Wet N Wild is a family fun water park good for hours of water bound entertainment. Several different water slides and thrill rides make for an enjoyable afternoon for all ages.

And the Orlando Convention Center along International Drive always has something going on. Whether it is a home show, a boat show, a car show or something else such as an educational seminar, the Orlando Convention Center has something for everyone. It is also the largest convention center and hotel complex in the world.

International Drive includes 5 of the top theme parks in Orlando including Sea World and Universal Studios, more than 30,000 hotel rooms, more than 450 stores, 3 major entertainment complexes and more than 150 different restaurants. You could spend a few days on International Drive alone and not see everything.

And if you are just moving to Orlando and need a place to live, there are nearly 300 apartment complexes and condo rentals available in the metro area to fit every budget. Some include great amenities such as clubhouses, free fitness and exercise centers, business centers with computers and internet access, beautiful swimming pools, racquetball courts and much more. And if you are in the market for a new home there are plenty being built and plenty for sale as Orlando Florida is one of the fastest growing areas in the south.

And you never have to worry about a place to work in Orlando since it is the great vacation escape, the resort and theme parks are always looking for people with many different skills. BellSouth, Lockheed Martin and Walt Disney World are major employers in Orlando with Disney World employing more than 50,000 people.

Yes, Orlando Florida is certainly one of the sweet spots of the southern United States. With everything there is to do here and great places to live and work, there isn't any reason for a single boring day in this Central Florida paradise.