Archive for January, 2008

How to Find a Culinary Institute

If you are interested in a career in the culinary arts, you will need to get a degree from a culinary institute.  Your education will help you launch a career when you have little or no job experience in the industry.

Here are the steps you will need to take to find a culinary institute:

  1. Check the Internet.  The Web is a great source and can really be helpful to you in your search.  Don’t forget to search for schools in your area, though, or you’ll pull up the websites for all the culinary schools across the United States!
  2. Make a list of the schools in your area.  Location should be a pretty effective way to narrow down the list of schools.
  3. Research the programs each school offers.  Different schools offer different programs, so look at the culinary arts degree requirement for each school.  Take note of the total credit hours required, and how they break down — how many classes in cooking, nutrition, management, etc.
  4. Research the cost of each school.  Unless cost is not an issue for you, you will need to make sure the school you choose fits into your budget.  Write down individual costs, as well as the total estimated cost — including classes, books, etc. — you will ultimately pay to attend each school.
  5. Research each school’s reputation.  When you are looking to start a new career based solely on your education, you need to make sure your degree will pass muster with potential employers.  The best way to do this is to actually call employers you would want to work with, and ask them what they typically think when they see a degree from a certain school on an applicant’s resume.  You could also ask them which schools hold the most clout with them when they are choosing between applicants.

Once you have researched all of these things, you can start deciding between them.  Prioritize what you want most out of your culinary training, and narrow your list down to the schools that offer this.  Then you can start using other factors, the ones you consider still important but less so, to narrow down your list even more.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

del.icio.us Reddit Digg Facebook Technorati Google StumbleUpon Windows Live Netscape Yahoo Ask Newsvine

How Recent Technology Improves Online Degrees

Online degrees are not something that is particularly new to the field of education. Although online colleges are relatively young in the long history of education, they have been around long enough to gain credibility in society. This credibility is enhanced by the fact that changes in technology have recently improved the quality of education obtained through these programs.

The major technological improvement to the online degree program has been advances in online communication. Gone are the days when email was the only real way to communicate. Instant messaging, VoIP calling, and video conferencing have all started to see widespread adoption among residential Internet users. These tools help to better recreate the physical classroom environment to make attending class online almost like going to a public school.

Unified communications is a developing field which is going to continue to enhance the quality of online education. Although it is primarily used by businesses, it is a tool which can greatly serve the educational platform on the Internet. By integrating all of the different communications tools possible for use online, this field will improve the efficiency and productivity of online students. As technology changes, so do the fields that rely on it. Internet education is one of those fields.

Technorati Tags: , ,

del.icio.us Reddit Digg Facebook Technorati Google StumbleUpon Windows Live Netscape Yahoo Ask Newsvine

12 Step Drug Rehab Approaches

 Approximately 95 per cent of drug rehab centers in North America are based on the 12-step approach. The 12-steps are a holistic approach to dealing with drug addiction as well as alcoholism. They treat the mind, body and spirit in order to triumph over the addiction. In 12-step programs, it is widely believed that in order to overcome an addiction one must admit to powerlessness over the addiction and turn their will over to the care of God as they understand Him. This allows people of all faiths, backgrounds, and belief systems to draw what they want from the 12-steps since it does not provide a specific description of God. Therefore, Christians, Muslims, Jews and countless other faiths have all benefited from an intervention that ultimately led to a successful twelve step drug rehab center.

 
The 12-step approach teaches that addiction is an incurable disease much like cancer and it can only be arrested but never cured. Practicing the 12-step program for years after stopping using as a way of maintaining adherence to their sobriety is common in 12-step circles. 
 

del.icio.us Reddit Digg Facebook Technorati Google StumbleUpon Windows Live Netscape Yahoo Ask Newsvine

Blackberry Ringtones and Other Unique Features

Blackberry phones have a number of features that make them unique — and very desireable.  Here is a list of reasons why a Blackberry phone just might be the phone of your dreams.

  • Download Blackberry ringtones quickly and easily.  Unlike other phones, which require you to jump through hoops in order to download ringtones, Blackberry ringtones are amazingly easy to download using your Blackberry web browser.  (Not at all like the infamous iPhone ringtones, which essentially require you to purchase a song twice — once to buy the song, and again to purchase the conversion into a ringtone.)  You can even download ringtones or songs you already own, simply by resizing the MP3 file and uploading it to the Internet.
  • Listen to music on your Blackberry.  Another reason why it is so easy to download ringtones is because your Blackberry also doubles as an MP3 player, enabling you to download music and listen to it at any time!
  • Browse the web.  Downloading ringtones isn’t the only thing you can do with your Blackberry web browser.  Surf the web just like you would from any computer!
  • Check email.  Your Blackberry also enables you to check email on-the-go — a great feature for busy people and business owners especially!
  • Stay organized.  The Blackberry also doubles as an organizer, which syncs to your computer.  Store your address book, task list, and calendar where you can access it at any time!

Blackberry phones are great phones to have!  There are many more reasons than the ones listed above, but these should certainly help demonstrate why so many people love their Blackberries.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

del.icio.us Reddit Digg Facebook Technorati Google StumbleUpon Windows Live Netscape Yahoo Ask Newsvine

How to Get a Small Business Loan

Whether it’s to fund your start-up or help smooth over a rough period, most small businesses have to take out a small business loan at one time or another. Here are a few tips for getting a loan as quickly and painlessly as possible.
 
Be prepared to show your business plan. Before financing your small business, most lenders and investors will want to see your business plan. This is necessary for established businesses as well as start-ups, as your business plan offers a way for lenders and investors to evaluate your business. They don’t want to finance a small business operation that is doomed to failure, after all!
 
Provide cash flow projections and any past tax returns. Documents such as these demonstrate that you will be able to pay back their small business loans, or that the investor will see a return from their investment. Small businesses already in existence can demonstrate income history with past years’ tax returns, and all businesses – whether new or established – can provide cash flow projections to show that they are reasonably confident their business will succeed.

 

If you don’t want to get out a loan, or want to minimize the amount you take out, see how you can reduce your expenses (and therefore your need for financing). For example, if your business is a start up, you could find an equipment lease program instead of buying all of the equipment outright. If you can’t minimize your expenses, though, don’t worry – there is no shame in taking out a small business loan.

Technorati Tags: , ,

del.icio.us Reddit Digg Facebook Technorati Google StumbleUpon Windows Live Netscape Yahoo Ask Newsvine