Business

Writing for business: the 8 parts of a personal business letter

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What is a personal business letter? It is a letter written by an individual and mailed to a company, business, or government agency. It is more formal than a letter or personal note.

There are eight parts to a personal business letter as follows:

  1. Return address– This is your address, do not include your name, and enter your address, apartment number, if applicable, line 2, your city, state, and zip code, all on one line. Write the full name of the city and state (the official post office abbreviation is also acceptable) and add the zip code. Note: If you are writing the letter on letterhead that already includes the address, this part is not necessary.

  2. Dated: Enter today’s day on the next line. Spell the entire month, comma, date, comma, and year in 4 digits, such as “2011.”

  3. Letter address: This area has who the letter is sent to and their full address. Write the person’s full name on the first line: The street address goes on the next line or two as needed. Enter the full name of the city, the postal abbreviation of the state followed by the zip code.

  4. Greetings: This is a formal greeting. Usually “Dear” followed by formal titles, ie: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., or Reverend. If you are writing to a woman and you don’t know her martial status or what title she prefers “Mrs.” It is acceptable. Follow the title by the full name or just by the last name.

  5. Body: This is the most important part of your letter. Use paragraphs correctly. Be brief and direct so that the recipient quickly knows the purpose of your letter. Provide enough detail, but do not use more words than necessary.

  6. Complementary closure: Use phrases like “Sincerely yours” or “Sincerely yours.” Capitalize the first letter of the first word, lowercase for the second word followed by a comma.

  7. Sender’s name: This is where your name goes, omit four spaces between the complementary closing and your typed name. Use your first and last name.

  8. Enclosures: If you include any documents with the letter, such as a resume, product sample, or other explanatory documents, show that there is an attachment by writing “Attachments” one line below the closing. You can list each attachment by name, this is a good way to make sure the recipient knows exactly what is in the envelope.

These are the parts and order of a personal business letter. It is assumed that you are writing this letter yourself, so you do not need to enter the typist’s initials.

Relationship

Organizing homework for students (and their parents)

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I spend a lot of time in my seminars and workshops, on the phone and by email, discussing the topic of homework organization. In fact, I spend a lot of time listening to parents complain that their children’s disorganization of homework is driving everyone crazy.

Many students have such a hard time getting it right that when they finally sit down to do their homework, they are exhausted. It’s no wonder they don’t want to! Getting organized will help alleviate tiredness, bad attitudes, procrastination, and rebellion.

Organizing tasks simply makes life easier for everyone.

Here are the homework organization tips that I use as a student, teacher, and parent. Print this list and read it with your children. Then put it on the fridge and check back often so everyone (parents, kids, babysitters, grandparents) is on the same organized page.

At school:

  • Write down each and every homework assignment in one place. I strongly I recommend using a bound or wire binder, definitely NOT a loose leaf binder. I don’t care how careful you are, the pages will fall, and then what? You will not know what to do or when to do it! A simple notebook is fine, but a planner or calendar is best. Some schools even provide them to students. Use it.

  • Write down assignments as you receive them. This is mostly for older students who switch classes and teachers, but it’s a good habit for everyone. If the teacher says, “Oh, tonight I want you to read Chapter 4,” write it down in your notebook.

  • Write down every due date on a project or document, even if you have a brochure or syllabus. The brochures disappear (I think they come together with loose socks), but you will still know what to do and when to do it. yew you have everything written in your homework notebook.

  • Keep ALL homework assignments for the day together in one place. Don’t have a special place or page for math, another for writing, etc. You want to see everything in one place.

  • Go through your homework notebook three (3) times a day – Before leaving school (or each class), double check to make sure you have everything (books, paper, supplies, etc.) that you will need later.

At home:

  • Before you Start doing your homework, look at your notebook and make sure you are doing the correct homework, the correct page, etc.

  • Before you put everything away, take a quick look. Did you do everything? Well!

  • Make a decision about where you will put your completed assignment: in a folder pocket, a special assignment folder, etc. You can decide to have a color-coded binder for each class. If you choose to use folders, strongly We recommend using 3-hole punched folders and keeping them together in a 3-ring binder. Whatever you choose, stick with it! Don’t put your homework in your binder today, tomorrow in a binder … And never, ever fold your homework into a book or throw it loose in your backpack! Shudder!

  • Use your Magic Task Box. You have one, right? The Magic Homework Box is a box with all the school supplies and materials that a student needs on a regular basis. These supplies only come out of the Magic Task Box during task time, so you always have what you need. That is magic!

  • Clean up as soon as you finish your homework. Now no later! Put the completed pages in your homework folder, then put the folder and homework notebook in your backpack. Not only will mornings be less crazy, you won’t have to sit in class knowing you did your homework and forgot it at home (doh!). Be sure to save your dictionary and any other books you have used.

  • Remember to put everything back in your Magic Task Box. At home, homework is not “done” until everything it is cleaned and stored.

  • Keep your backpack organized. Throw away all those candy wrappers and pieces of paper at random. Keep an area or pocket filled with a few items (pencils, a pencil sharpener, maybe a calculator) so you can do your homework anywhere, maybe even before you get home! Remove any tests, projects, reports, or grading documents that your teacher has taken the time to return to you. Why? You may need it to study for a test, for a portfolio, or for a project. You can discard everything at the end of the semester or school year, but until then put each item in its own subject file, but NOT in the homework folder. Remember, homework folders are ONLY for completed assignments that are ready to turn in.

  • Do not give up! They say it takes 21 days to form a good habit. If you forget to do something on this list, be sure to try it. Hey, maybe if you remember to write down all your homework or clean for 21 days in a row, your mom or dad will do something really nice for you! (Parents, that was a hint!)

A Note to Parents on Homework Organization

Remember that your job is to give your children organizational tools and show them how to use them. Your job is NOT to organize your child’s homework! So at first you can go through your kid’s homework notebook to make sure he is writing all his assignments in one place, but you would never dream of calling the teacher and checking. You can watch your youngster copy the due dates for the science project into her homework notebook; you won’t do it for her.

Yeah I know it’s hard to let go, I’ve been there! But, we want our children to be organized and independent learners, right?

You can do it!

(For more information on recommended homework organizing products and The Magic Homework Box, see the site information below.)

Gaming

5 video games you must play before you die

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5.) Halo 3 (2007)

Why: The Halo series is unique. Gathered friends to blast each other in epic space combat. Halo 3 is perhaps the best of the series when it comes to glorified multiplayer, with a dramatic story with no shortage of opera music tracks and tough character customization. Many titles are still trying to replicate what Halo did and they just can’t be matched.

4.) Minecraft (2011)

Why: Minecraft is one of the best-selling video games of all time, so you’d have to live under a rock as a gamer to never run into it. You can basically create your own world and do whatever you want. If you think about it, you can create it. The great thing about Minecraft is that it is offered on almost all platforms, including smartphones. This game is good to let your mind wander and become an artist.

3.) Super Mario 64 (1996)

Why: Mario is one of the best-known titles, but anyone can tell you that it could be the best game in the franchise. The game is unlike any of its predecessors because it was the first 3D platformer in the series. It’s a bigger world than the previous ones and the extra moves and jumps Mario can do make the game faster and more exciting. There are a total of 120 stars and the game has a lot of replay value. Mario platformer games are still being made today and none of them still can’t come close to how good this game was.

2.) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

Why: Everyone has their favorite Zelda game, but Ocarina of Time includes the best features of the glorified series. There is a huge world that you have the freedom to explore, a magnificent score, and a truly remarkable origin story. The dungeons aren’t too challenging, but intricate enough that you don’t get too mad when you can’t solve a puzzle.

1.) Pokémon X and Y (2013)

Why: If you are a child or an adult, with this franchise that never seemed to matter. Pokémon revolutionized what it meant to bring characters like Pikachu to life. They modernized the portable multiplayer game and made it what it is today. X and Y is one of the newer titles, which is great because the game never stops using the old characters that adults grew up with.

Health Fitness

How to end your addiction in 21 days!

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I personally know what it’s like to be addicted to something bad. When you are addicted to something good, like exercising or eating healthy, your life improves. But when that addiction is to something bad, like porn, alcohol, or lying, then your life becomes miserable. Those bad addictions do nothing to improve your life.

However, with any addiction, it is possible to free yourself FOREVER from those things that make your life more difficult. Someone who is addicted to alcohol cannot live. Their lives evolve around the bottle. The same with pornography (for both men and women): you will plan your day according to your addictions. The same goes for drinking soda – you’ll be broke because you love Dr. Pepper more than you should!

Before ending your addiction, you need to understand the following:

  • You have a problem and it doesn’t matter why you have it (so blaming is no excuse!)
  • Giving in to your whims is YOUR choice, you don’t have to.
  • You have the power to say “Yes” or “No” to your addictions.
  • Your problem is only temporary, if you let it

It takes about 21 days for someone to form or break a habit. In this case, we want to break a habit (or a bad addiction). And I’m sorry to say, but the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to stop smoking suddenly, that is, temporarily.

For 21 days, you will make the decision to simply not give in to your cravings. Whether it’s smoking (cigarettes or marijuana), sleeping with strangers every night, getting drunk, gambling, eating candy, or whatever is taking over your life, you simply have to quit for 21 days.

Now what about trying to “wean” off your bad habits? Well let me give you an example that MEN would probably understand:

Allen is a married man with children. You have a problem with pornography. And she likes ALL types of porn: hard porn, soft porn, 18+ porn, lesbian porn, you name it. Your mouth is watering at all of them.

One day, Allen gets tired of always giving in to his addictions. You are ruining your wishes for your wife. You can’t stop thinking about looking at naked women! Your desires are out of control! So, he thinks he would tone it down. I mean, you can’t just stop doing it all at once. That’s impossible!

So instead of looking at the hard stuff on the internet, you decide to look at the store catalogs that your wife receives on occasion. You will only see the section with the women in underwear. It is not a big thing. It is not porn. Many of these women are probably moms … hot moms … very hot moms.

Hmm, wondering if these horny moms have husbands who know what they’re doing. What if their husbands didn’t know?

Hmmm, what if there was a porn site about cheating wives …

And before you know it, get back on the computer looking for new cheating wife porn sites.

Switching to the “lighter versions” of the harder versions will not work, because you are still feeding your addictions. No, you may not drink five times a day, but you keep giving in to your addictions. Maybe you’re just drinking “Diet Coke” instead of the ones that contain sugar, but eventually, you’ll miss the “real stuff” and go back to using it.

If you are addicted to something, that means you have a soft spot for it. The best way to handle any weakness is to get rid of whatever you are weak at.

So, let’s go back to our friend Allen. You need to stop the porn period. He is a married man and does not need to covet other women. So, this is what you will do for 21 days:

  • Stop looking at porn, period. Taking a look at something naughty, even if it isn’t “porn”, would fuel your addictions.
  • He looks back when he sees other attractive women.
  • Keep your eyes on another woman’s eyes if you are tempted to look at her breasts
  • Don’t watch anything on TV that has women skimping on tight clothing

And for 21 days, this is what it WILL DO:

  • He looks at his wife more often when she is naked.
  • Have sex with your wife more often.
  • Holding hands with your wife
  • He thinks about bad things about his wife
  • Slapping your wife or touching her more often
  • Look at your wife’s treats more often.

The key here is to stop your bad COLD habits while forming a new habit in its place. By doing this, he:

  • He starts lusting after his own wife
  • Have little or no interest in other women.
  • Get a closer relationship with your woman
  • Get rid of your addiction
  • Start living life again

Now, I use the example of pornography because it is a very hot topic. But this principle applies to EVERYTHING. The point is to stop everything you are doing that leads to your addictions and start doing the things that WILL STOP your addictions. When something starves, it dies. If a woman is addicted to romance novels and that prevents her from lusting after her own husband, she should let go of her addiction and start doing more to lust for her own man.

If someone is addicted to alcohol, that person needs to starve with that addiction and start replacing alcoholic beverages with drinks that do something good for the body, like, I don’t know, WATER!

If someone is addicted to a particular food, then that person must starve and start craving healthier foods.

It’s about starving your addiction and being aggressive about it. Addictions are not eliminated. Addictions are killed! You don’t want to take it easy. You want to hunt him down and kill him!

Hear! If you don’t know anything about weeds, then understand that if you don’t uproot them, they will grow back! As long as the roots of any plant are intact, you will see them again. Those roots are still active, waiting for the perfect season to sprout again overnight! You control weeds by pulling them out of the roots so they don’t grow back there. You control your addiction by taking it by the roots and killing it.

And you kill your addiction by stopping it in its tracks. But only temporarily.

Now why am I saying to hold him for 21 days? Well, even though you need to stop your PERIOD of addictions, that thought of “forever” could be overwhelming and you will revert to your old ways. But, if you could stop it for a brief moment, it gives you hope that maybe you can go back to your addictions again. However, when the 21 days are up, you won’t want to go back to your old ways. And anyone could stop doing anything for a brief moment.

When I tell you to just stop for 21 days, that gives you a goal to work towards and a plan to work with. During those 21 days, you will do your best to stay away from your addictions, so that when the 21 days are over, you will feel so liberated from your addictions that you won’t want to go back. Having a life free of addictions is better than a life in which you are chained. You don’t want to live life in chains now, do you?

But you might be thinking, “Easier said than done, man! You don’t know what I went through!”

Yes! All addictions work the same way: you feel a strong desire and you give up. Period. And what makes it an addiction is that you ALWAYS give in to these cravings, even to the point where you’re making adjustments to your schedule just to give in to these cravings. But what I’m telling you is if you take the attitude of “easier said than done”, guess what? You will NEVER lose your addiction. But if your attitude is that your addiction needs to “Quit”, then you WILL CONQUER your addiction. I don’t care what you are addicted to, all addictions work the same way. And you could kill those addictions in the same way: DEATH OF HUNGER.

No more nicotine patches? Don’t smoke “lighter cigarettes” or drink “hard stuff” less. DEATH OF HUNGER to your addiction. Attack him! Be aggressive! Act like you are fighting for your life. Because just weaning you gives temporary relief, but the roots are still there. If you pluck a weed from the stem without taking root, you simply don’t see the weed anymore. But as long as the roots are still in the ground, it WILL RETURN, and it might bring some friends too!

Go after those addictions hard! You don’t treat addictions like they are nothing. They are ruining their lives! Be aggressive with your addictions and you will get some aggressive results!

Aiyo A. Jones, MS

NCSF Certified Fitness Trainer

Legal Law

The 5 best technological universities

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Many students have asked us which universities are the best schools for engineering and computer science. Using a weighted average of faculty resources, technology grants, class size, and student grades, we have developed the following checklist to help guide students and parents through the admissions process. The list provides a concise summary of these major engineering and technology programs.

(1) California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

“Cal Tech” is the highest ranked tech savvy university. The school is packed with great teachers and has a niche in California’s tech industry, including Google and Yahoo. Cal Tech is highly recommended if you are interested in entering Silicon Valley and have a knack for inventing new technologies. Its undergraduate program is one of the best for students interested in individual research projects with faculty, and Cal Tech is a key part of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Some key specialties: Natural Sciences, Biotechnology, Space Sciences

Famous Alumni: Gordon E. Moore, Co-Founder of Intel Corporation; Charles Francis Richter, creator of the Richter magnitude scale;

SAT range for incoming students: 2200-2350

Acceptance Rate: 17%

(two) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

MIT is a great school with unique resources for its students. If you are interested in graduating with the famous “MIT” degree and want to immerse yourself in a high quality education every day, this is a great place to be. With more Nobel prizes than one could count in an hour, they define engineering excellence. Their high contributions from alumni suggest that generations of families are happy with their educational choice. MIT probably has the highest global recognition among scholars and students.

Some key specialties: Artificial Intelligence, Aerospace Engineering

Famous Alumni: Col. Buzz Aldrin, NASA Astronaut; IM Pei, world renowned designer and architect; Robert Metcalfe, inventor of Ethernet and founder of 3COM;

SAT range for incoming students: 2070-2340

Acceptance Rate: 13%

(3) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Cornell is one of the few universities with engineering research programs that allow students to work directly with renowned professors. With professors like Bill Nye (the scientist) and Steven Squyres from NASA’s Mars Rover program, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from the best. Be prepared to work harder at Cornell than at most colleges. Cornell’s unique engineering science facilities include the newly built Duffield Hall, representing the university’s next high-tech step.

Some key specialties: Physical Engineering, Nanotechnology, Biomedical Sciences

Famous Alumni: Steven Squyres, Principal Scientific Investigator for Mars Rovers; William F. Friedman, founder of the study of cybernetics;

SAT range for incoming students: 1940-2240

Acceptance rate: 24%

(4) Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA

Originally founded as “Carnegie Technical Schools” in 1900 by industrialist Andrew Carnegie, the school is primarily known for its science and research. Carnegie Mellon is home to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the US Department of Defense and operated by Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, they house the Robotics Institute (RI), a division of the College of Computer Science. In general, its solid reputation among academics and education journals is one reason why students should seek out this school.

Some key specialties: Computer Science, Software Engineering

Famous alumni: James Gosling, creator of the Java programming language; Andy Bechtolsheim, co-founder of Sun Microsystems; Vinod Khosla, billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of Sun Microsystems;

SAT range for incoming students: 1940-2235

Acceptance Rate: 34%

(5) University of Texas, Austin, TX

Considered one of the “public ranks” in America, the University of Texas has fantastic resources for its students. As a public university, it spends nearly 50 percent of its engineering budget on sponsored research. UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering enrolled 67 new National Merit Scholars in 2006-2007, the highest proportion of new National Merit Scholars from the university. UT Austin enrolls the third-party academics with the highest national merit at the national level. Also, Texas is a great state with amazing weather and friendly people. Definitely keep UT-Austin in mind when applying to college.

Some key specialties: Petroleum Engineering, Computer Engineering

Famous Alumni: Michael Dell, Founder and CEO of Dell Computers; Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corp. President and CEO.

SAT Range for Incoming Students: 1680-2055

Acceptance Rate: 49% *

* Please note that this admission rate will be affected by Texas’ top ten percent law, which ensures that Texas high school seniors graduate in the top 10% of their admission from classes at any public university in Texas.

In general, when applying to these colleges, it will be helpful to have someone with experience in admissions counseling. College counseling is an important part of getting into these best schools. We hope this information provides you with key facts about the best universities and schools.

Lifestyle Fashion

I’m having a dinner party and one of my guests is a vegetarian. What should i cook?

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You’re inviting guests to an upcoming dinner party and are being polite by asking people if there is any food they don’t like or can’t tolerate. A person contacts you and tells you that they are completely vegetarian. Lucky you asked, don’t you think?

Many meat eaters I have met find vegetarian food bland and boring, but this is far from the truth. You can create a wonderful menu and carnivores won’t even realize that they have eaten completely vegetarian food.

However, you have a couple of options. First of all, if you are really interested in a particular dish, you can create a vegetarian option. For example, if you are cooking a meat lasagna, you can also make a smaller vegetarian lasagna plate and your guests will not even realize that they are eating different dishes.

In this case, it is a good idea to assure your vegetarian guest that you are doing so so that they know that you have met their needs so that they can fully relax and enjoy their food without fear.

An important point to remember when having a vegetarian dinner guest is that you should not cook vegetarian food in the same oil that you just cooked a meat dish in first, do the opposite.

The other option, of course, is to cook a completely vegetarian meal and my suggestion is to combine a theme with this idea. In this case I will use an Italian theme as an example.

When your guest arrives, you can serve up some devouring hors d’oeuvres, like crackers and aubergine sauce or tomato slices topped with mozzarella and basil.

As a starter, you can serve a plate of eggplant and parmigiana antipasto, followed by a vegetarian lasagna or a pasta with pesto or Neapolitan sauce. The best thing about aubergines (the French name is aubergine) is that they are known to be a satisfying meat substitute with their beautiful thick texture. For dessert, you can serve a tiramusu, which is the most recognized Italian pastry, or something as simple as a pre-bought ice cream.