Protecting Your Children’s identity….

Take a moment to read, and then if you value your child’s identity, sign the petition and pass it on…..

1. Schools across the UK have started to take biometrics from children without consultation or parents permission.

2. Schools say they are secure, whereas security experts know the details could be stolen and used to steal the child’s identity, or by agencies who could use them to infringe civil liberties.

3. The information could also be sold. (So, therefore benefiting business, as opposed to providing security then…..)

To sign the petition, go to;

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/kidprints/

Then, copy paste and/or forward to all your friends and family, if you want to make a stand that is…..

Tags: Politics, Security, Identity, ID Cards, Fingerprinting

$100 Offer, Expires August 28th 2007….

OK, this is a quick one, the offer runs out on the 28th August, so you need to think fast and make a decision.

The people over at Sitesell are running a "buy one site, get a second for $100" promotion.

If I haven’t spoken to you about this lot before, let me give you a quick introduction.

They provide you with all the tools you need to build an income generating, web based business, which can be built around an existing knowledge, skill or hobby.

How’s that? Short and to the point. (For a more in depth look at what it can do for you, click here)

Most of the web business are losing money, that’s a fact. However there are some, mainly smaller operations that are managing to make a go of it and earning a living. (Want proof? Click here.)

The trick is not a flashy, super technical designed site, but a simple one that gets the "click", as they say. The SiteBuildIt does just that. $299 gets you access to tools to create a site that would normally cost well over $5000 if you did them all separately.

Here are some specific links to some general areas where people are creating there own sites and income from the Internet. These are not get rich quick scam ideas. If you’re looking for that kind of thing, forget it. Go somewhere else. (For the whole picture, from selling hard goods to real estate, head over to the main SBI page, click here)

Work At Home Mums choose not to take paid work outside the home, so that their family can be their first priority. SBI! can provide the flexibility, income generation and personal fulfillment you are seeking. Click Here

University/College Students – Students spend tons of their spare time on the Internet. Now, SBI allows them to use that time to build a profitable small business that could pay them an income for life. Click Here

Retirees – retirement can mean freedom, enjoyment and extra income! Click Here

Work from Home – Just about everyone’s dream is a job that they can do at home. No commute, no bosses, and a chance to work in your ‘jamees. Well maybe not. Anyone looking for a new life and new possibilities… moms, retirees, people with health problems, and anyone looking for a job they can do from home. SBI! has the power to deliver. Click Here

If you’re unsure whether your "idea for a business" is a match for SiteBuildIt, ask them directly. click here, to speak to someone there, get in touch with me, OR just get the site using the special offer, and then get in touch and we’ll figure it out later. The second site can be for you, as a gift for a relative or friend or something you just keep for now and create a second business once the first is up and running.

I’m off to register another couple of sites now.

To find out more and order yours click here

Tags: Work, Life, Business, Home Based Business, Internet, Technology

Taking it easy and good news….

Listening to the news today, about the number of people leaving the UK, then I received this email from a reader….

I was talking to her via Skype, about the fact that we may need to head back to the UK to earn more money the other day….

What Having An MBA Can Do For You!!!

Near a boat docked in a tiny Mexican village, an American tourist compliments the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish, and asks how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the Mexican.

"But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs…I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer everyday. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?" asked the Mexican.

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then
negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the Mexican.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" said the Mexican.

"After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying
your friends."

And the moral is: Know where you’re going in life……….. you may already be there! We all need to realize how much we have, and how little we really need.

…. and the good news is Leigh has just had a call from another bank she applied to, that pays more cash and has better work conditions than the one we were hoping for. She’s got a job!

So we won’t be heading back to the UK yet then after all. We’re heading across to Vancouver for a few days. It will be the first time we’ve left the Okanagan valley in the 2 years we’ve been here, just to have a look around as we were planning on heading across there sooner rather than later. Without my main camera, I’m using the small one. I’ll be trying to upload pictures and blogging while I’m there though, so stay tuned.

Tags: Emigration, Retirement, Life, Work

Mathematics Tutoring, again….

I’ve just been having a Skype call with a new client, she IM’d me a link to the following article, from a UK newspaper this morning….

Record GCSEs mask poor results in Maths and English
The rise in A* and A grades at GCSE masks a relatively poor performance in English and particularly in maths. GCSE results, which are released tomorrow, will show a lower-than-average percentage of A and A* grade passes in the two core subjects – despite millions of pounds spent on catch-up classes by ministers for youngsters struggling to master the three Rs.
(Read Full Article)

…. which would explain the rise in calls and emails I have been getting, from the UK people wanting me to tutor again.

School starts in a couple of weeks, the bookings have begun. If you want some sessions, then please let us know ASAP. We’re already running out of space. If you want to take advantage of our special offer, click here or go to our Bookings page.

If you have any questions, you can post them as comments, or email us directly, mark[at]mathsmasters[dot]com, remembering to replace the [at] and the [dot]. We’re trying to cut back on the dreaded spam we receve!

Thanks,

Mark

Tags: Tutoring, Math, Maths, Education, Schools, Mathematics

Sunday Morning,….

Nothing like a rainy day to stop the fun at the beach and get some real work cracking….

With the coffee flowing, I’ve been trying to finish some projects. Having quit the day trading, it’s not like I don’t need to get a move on or nothing….

Anyway, we’ve been putting some finishing touches to Leigh’s site Artistikka.com which is coming along finally. We had a bit of block as to what to do, but a neat change of style and the creative juices are in flow again. Her cards, which have been selling quite well, are now going to be for sale from the site along with her paintings and photography. I’m trying to talk her into sticking a few of mine on there too, seeing as how I’m building it for her….

Then, while pictures are uploading and webpages are doing what they do, I’ve been going through the editing of a short story for another recent creation, set up with a local fisherman, FromTheWatersEdge.com.

So, having a real productive moment. Mind you the sun is due back soon, so I better get cracking….

Tags: Artistikka, From The Waters Edge

Sunday afternoon walks….

Nothing planned, so packing a few drinks and snacks, we went exploring….

Up behind us in Westbank, you find a track, about a mile long, through trees and sided by mountains. At the end you come upon the Rose Valley Reservoir, that supplies the drinking water for the Rose Valley area. It drops off almost as soon as the water begins, it is a dam after all.

Looking north, I got this shot, a real British Columbia scene.

But still no bear….

Tags: Water, Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada

Battle at Kruger….

Just browsing the news and found an article on this video, a hit on You Tube.

The footage first shows how several lions attack a group of buffalo, snatching a buffalo calf. As the lions wrestle with a calf by a watering hole, a crocodile joins in the battle, pouncing on the buffalo. The lions win the tug-of-war, but then the buffalo herd returns…

 

 

And first they’re coming for your kids….

Something I feel quite strongly about at the moment, fingerprinting our kids, back in the UK, along with the ID card and National DNA database. If you have kids, and even if you don’t, take a moment to read the following, from the No2ID group…

THEY’RE COMING FOR YOUR KIDS

In the rush of announcements and over 40 written statements put out in the final days of the Parliamentary session, you may not have noticed that the government has given the final go-ahead for ContactPoint – the database formerly known as the Children’s IS Index.

Like the National Identity Register – the linked databases at the heart of the ID cards scheme – ContactPoint will contain significant amounts of personal information ON EVERY CHILD IN THE UK. Over 300,000 people will have access to the system, which is intended to be up and running by next year. We understand that the details of celebrities’ and public figures’ children may be kept hidden, a two-tier privacy policy that demonstrates the very real security risks such a system introduces.

Each child will be given an ID number, and their record will contain details about their parents, doctor, health visitor, midwife and/or school nurse, school and/or college, services they have accessed – specifically flagging up vulnerable children who have accessed “sensitive services”, e.g. to do with sexual or mental health – and a link to a new social services assessment, the eCAF*. Far from reducing risks to children, child protection specialists have expressed alarm that practitioners will be so overwhelmed with low-level data about all 11 million children in the country that those at risk of harm will in fact be less likely to be noticed.

Did you know that from 2008 the government will be monitoring YOUR child from birth? Plenty of questions remain unanswered: why put every child in the country on a database that less than half will ever need? Why spend all this money rather than investing in much-needed children’s services? Why should a politician’s children get greater protection than your son/daughter/nephew/granddaughter?

Tell your family and friends. Wake people up now. Write to your MP and your local paper’s letters page. The ID scheme may be slipping, but the government’s surveillance and data-sharing agenda is gathering pace. And first they’re coming for your kids.
—
* For more detail on ContactPoint, eCAF and the growing surveillance of children, we highly recommend Action on Rights for Children’s blog and particularly ARCH’s Database Masterclass: http://archrights.wordpress.com/

Rare river dolphin ‘now extinct’….

Still, never mind, eh. There’s still Big Brother 102, or Pop Idol, or some other load of old crap on the TV, I’m sure, that will take your mind off of the serious stuff going on in the world….

A freshwater dolphin found only in China is now “likely to be extinct”, a team of scientists has concluded.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6935343.stm

There you go, just heard on the news, some “actress”, I can’t even remember her name, I’ve never heard of, has checked in to “alcohol rehab” for the 3rd time this year. No mention of the dolphins though, so I guess some things are more important the others….

You may not agree about man made “global warming”, but I defy anyone to tell me, we’re not helping it along.

Skaha Lake….

The view facing south, of Skaha Lake, the next lake, just below Lake Okanagan. The river ride joins the 2 lakes.