South Florida Father Making Preparations to Hike the 4,428-mile Eastern Continental Trail from Canada to Key West, Florida
William Bateman, a father of eleven from south Florida and veteran long distance hiker; is launching a national media event called "Hike4Fathers" to draw attention to the importance of fatherhood in America. He is planning to hike the 4,428-mile Eastern Continental Trail from Canada to Key West, Florida beginning mid-May, 2005.Bateman had previously hiked more than 1,000 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail on behalf of Florida's abused and abandoned children in 2002. That experience led him to speak with many men on the trail who lamented missed opportunities to spend more time with their families.Their stories inspired Bateman, who goes by the trail name "Spanky", to put together a second attempt to hike across North America.
He has labeled this effort "Hike4Fathers."
When asked why he is willing to spend more than ten months and taking an estimated ten million steps to hike from Canada to Key West, Florida; his response was as unique as the monumental "Hike4Fathers" effort itself:"My heart breaks each time I hear an individual's story about their life growing up never hearing the loving influential words spoken by a father.
I hope to interview real fathers I meet on the trail; allowing those men to become the voices of encouragement to kids of all ages who have never heard the affirmations of a dad.
I describe this special book project as a kind of "father love letters" to kids without fathers.
Secondly, I want to create a photo expose' of fathers and their families that I meet as I travel across North America; and put those photos into a pictorial book dedicated to the significant and influential role of fatherhood in North America."Mr. Bateman understands how rare a feat he is attempting.
Less than ten individuals worldwide have successfully "thru-hiked" the whole Eastern Continental Trail.
Even rarer is the fact that he is attempting the trail solo and southbound- something that is difficult even by Appalachian Trail standards.
He estimates that it will take him more than ten months to hike the E.C.T., he will lose about 60 pounds in body weight, wear out three pairs of hiking boots, summit more than 250 mountain peaks and encounter wildlife ranging from timber wolves, black bears, elk and moose in the northern half of the trail to hedge hogs, deer, alligators and dangerous snakes in the southern end.
Weatherwise, he will encounter all four seasons from hurricane force winds and storms to bitter cold and rain.Currently, Mr. Bateman and his family remain very active with community outreach efforts throughout the south Florida area- especially related to single-parent families and youth mentoring issues.
Bateman is an accomplished special events speaker and considered an expert in stepfamily dynamics and related ministry issues involving the family and the role of the church in those families.Because of the large amount of funding required to hike the full trail's length; he is seeking major corporate or individual sponsors who are willing to partner with his efforts to promote the valuable role of fatherhood.You can follow William "Spanky" Bateman's incredible journey hiking more than 4,400-miles across North America beginning mid-May, 2005 by visiting www.abovetheclouds.cc; his "Hike4Fathers Above the Clouds" website journal and fatherhood resource..
Offshore Investing
Offshore investing: spreading risk helps sleepThe world's economies still dance to different tunes and have different boom and bust cycles that tend to offset each other, even though the differences are getting smaller. As a result, international stocks can provide diversification for a portfolio heavy in U.S. stocks.Between June 1997 and October 1998, for example, Japan's Nikkei index lost almost 40%, but European markets did well due to continental economic union. U.S.-style corporate restructurings also began to pay off. One region's success balanced the other's failure to get its financial house in order.There has been less divergence between regions more recently.
Even so, we suggest the prudent investor cannot afford to ignore overseas markets. They now represent some 44% of world market capitalization, up from 25% about 30 years ago. International stocks can provide solid diversification for a portfolio heavily invested in U.S. equities.Exchange rates add an extra flavor...
Offshore Investing
Hedge funds > Offshore Investing
An intriguing story about how a small group of ruined employees sought revenge against their former bosses. Based on recent Enron and WorldCom scandals.
(ContentDesk) May 27, 2004 -- Gotcha! is a fictitious story based on real events involving unethical business practices used by large American corporations to enhance the value of their publicly traded stock. The resulting collapse of entities such as Enron and WorldCom led to severe financial losses to public stockholders and the catastrophic loss of pension funds and health benefits to thousands of employees. The corporate executives responsible for the collapse of these companies, however, were rewarded for their mismanagement with "golden parachutes." Gotcha! is a story of a group of former managers of the bankrupt Whittaker Corporation who conspire to exact revenge against the corporate executives responsible for the company's demise. These vigilantes attempt to execute a series of illegal scams involving burglary, fraud, and prostitution intended to ruin the lives of the executives who destroyed the company. Retribution is sought under the principal of "an eye for an eye, a tooth...
An intriguing story about how a small group of ruined employees sought revenge against their former bosses. Based on recent Enron and WorldCom scandals.
Hedge funds > An intriguing story about how a small group of ruined employees sought revenge against their former bosses. Based on recent Enron and WorldCom scandals.
Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 4-"Enter The Web"
Does the thought of managing your own website seem too complicated? What's holding you back?A web page is simply a document with a .htm or .html extension ex. article.htm or article.htmlIt is important to have your own website when conducting business over the Internet. When you sign up for affiliate programs they give you a duplicate of the company website but the duplicate is not formated to be found by the search engines. You cannot include keywords and meta tags which are used by the search engines to index web pages. When you have your own website you have the opportunity to make a name for yourself not just promote the affiliate program.
You can also market lots of products/services in one shot. Though it is not totally necessary to have a paid web host, it is a good idea if funds are available, being that there are some restrictions to having a free web hosting account. Such as the web host will add their advertisement to your site usually a banner at the very top of the...
Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 4-"Enter The Web"
Hedge funds > Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 4-"Enter The Web"
PerTrac and MSCI Barra Announce Renewed Relationship
New York, NY (ContentDesk via ContentDesk Direct) July 13, 2006 -- PerTrac Financial Solutions, LLC, (PFS) creator of the PerTrac Analytical Platform, the worlds leading asset allocation and investment analysis software, announced today that it has renewed its relationship with MSCI Barra, a leading provider of benchmark indices and risk management analytics products.????The MSCI Hedge Fund Indices and Database, introduced in 2002, are a widely-used source of information on alternative investments, consisting of more than 190 indices as well as containing data on over 2,600 hedge funds and CTAs.
The indices, which are calculated based upon the performance of the funds in the database, serve as an important representation of the hedge fund opportunity set and are distinguished by their transparency, 95%+ monthly constituent reporting, and superior system of categorizing hedge funds using MSCI Barras granular Hedge Fund Classification...
Hedge funds > PerTrac and MSCI Barra Announce Renewed Relationship
Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k)
If your boss handed you an envelope filled with cash, would you throw it away? Of course not! But employees do it every day. And that's not the only mistake they make. I often come across investors who have made simple, yet costly mistakes in their company retirement accounts (401(k)s). If you or your spouse have a 401(k) account, read on to make sure you aren't making the same mistakes.The most common mistake I find concerning a 401(k) is that some workers don't take advantage of it at all. This is especially amazing when many employers match a portion of their employees' contributions.
For instance, let's say your company matches your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of your salary. If you make $50,000 a year, that means the company will put in $1,500 if you put in $1,500. That's a 100% return! You should make these contributions even if you think you can't afford it. Most 401(k) plans allow you to borrow against the balance of your account at a low interest rate. So...
Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k)
Hedge funds > Getting the Most Out of Your 401(k)
PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your
PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your child's education costRising. Soaring. Skyrocketing. These are the words that seem to begin every article about college tuition costs ? and they are words guaranteed to make every parent cringe. According to the College Board, costs for the 2004-2005 school year at four-year private colleges are up 6%, while costs at four-year public colleges are up 10.5%.
Scary? Yes. Impossible to handle? No! The good news is that there is more financial aid available than ever before. One of the most interesting financial aid options is the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students, or PLUS Loan. What is a PLUS Loan? PLUS Loans are federal loans taken out by parents to help pay their children's college costs. PLUS Loans offer several advantages: ? Interest rates are adjusted each year, but are consistently kept low.
For the 2004-2005 school year, the interest rate is 4.17%. It is capped to never exceed 9%. ? Financial need...
PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your
Hedge funds > PLUS Loans ? it's never too late to subsidize your