A car accident can permanently change your entire life in the blink of an eye. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident through no fault of your own, you deserve to recover compensation to help you recover from your injuries.

“I hear about people all the time that put their car accident claim at risk simply because they either failed to do something, or did something else that they shouldn’t have,” says Jonathan R. Mani, a Charleston, West Virginia car accident lawyer, “the best thing to do is be aware of the different thing you should and shouldn’t do after a car accident.”

The time period immediately following you car accident is the most important time concerning your car accident claim. After a car accident, you should:

– Call the Authorities – The police will help sort out the situation and they will also create a police report about the car accident that will identify who they believe is at fault.

– See a Doctor – Injuries often arise months after car accidents occur, so it is important that you see a doctor immediately to determine if you have suffered any injuries that you are unaware of.

– Obtain Information – Get the contact information for all drivers, passenger, and witnesses of the car accident. Also, be sure to get the insurance information, VIN number, and license plate number of all the vehicles involved in the car accident.

– Take Pictures – You should have a disposable camera in your car that you can use to take pictures of the car accident. You should take as many pictures as it takes to get a good representation of what occurred.

– Call a Car Accident Attorney – An experienced car accident attorney will help you deal with the insurance companies and their adjusters, they will speak with the other drivers, and they will help you identify what injuries you have suffered from the car accident.

There are also certain things that you should absolutely avoid after a car accident. After your car accident, you should not:

– Admit Fault – Car accidents are confusing and complex, and you should never admit fault because after an investigation into the car accident circumstances, it may be shown that you were not actually at fault. By admitting fault, you may not be able to receive the appropriate compensation.

– Leave the Scene – This is not only illegal, but even if you are not at fault for the car accident, you will drastically limit your ability to recover from your car accident claim.

– Wait – Many people choose to wait for the insurance companies to contact them, or take their time to call an experienced car accident lawyer. This can severely impact the outcome of your car accident claim. If you have been involved in a car accident, it is important that you contact a car accident lawyer as soon as possible and get the ball rolling on your claim.

– Sign Anything – If you are presented with any papers from your insurance company or the other driver’s insurance company, make sure you have an experienced car accident attorney review them before you sign anything. Signing the wrong papers may prevent your ability to recover from your car accident claim.

If you have been involved in a car accident, one of the most important things you can do to benefit your car accident claim is contact an experienced car accident attorney to help you file your claim and recover the compensation you deserve.

1) Always use a Registered Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breeder

If you’re looking to buy a Stafford, you should always plan to use a registered Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeder. This is the only way to guarantee you are getting what you pay for!

Stories abound of people who decided to try and save a few dollars because they were not going to show their dog – and bought an un-papered Staffordshire – and ended up with a dog completely different to what they expected. I’ve even heard stories where the so-called parents on show – were NOT even the REAL PARENTS!

Buying from a registered Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breeder gives you peace of mind AND the option of papers that certify your dogs lineage. Whether you decide to take the dogs papers or not is entirely up to you!

So you’ve got the message now then – ALWAYS USE A REGISTERED STAFFORDSHIRE BULL TERRIER BREEDER. AND don’t just take the word of the “nice” person that is selling you the pup that the dog is pedigreed!

2) Always ask to see the originals of the Pedigree papers for the parents or Pedigree papers and a Service Certificate if only the bitch is on view and was mated with a Stud dog from another breeder.

Check the Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeders documentation, including Kennel name and Prefix number and ensure that everything is up to date!

DON’T WORRY – if they are solid Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breeders, they won’t mind; in fact they will EXPECT you to check – if they do seem at all hesitant – it’s time to be very suspicious about the pedigree of that pup!

Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breeders follow breed standards that were established to check and maintain certain key characteristics that define how a Staffordshire Bull terrier looks and moves etc. This standard and the documentation that supports a dogs lineage, is your guarantee of purity – there is simply no other way to be certain!

3) Be on the look out for DEFECTS in your pup – using a registered Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeder ensures you are buying a dog with proven and traceable blood-lines, but a dog can still have defects.

Here’s the Breed Standard taken directly from the Book – A New Owners Guide to Staffordshire Bull Terriers by Dayna Lemke – (Page 26), it’s an international standard and is the same worldwide.

While it applies to a full grown dog, certain aspects of the Standard (eg colour, eyes, teeth etc) will also be visible in a pup.

The Official Standard of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Breeder General Appearance The Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a smooth coated dog. It should be of great strength for its size and, although muscular, should be active and agile.

Size, Proportion, Substance Height at shoulder: 14 to 16 inches.Weight: Dogs, 28 to 38 pounds; bitches, 24 to 34 pounds, these heights being related to weights. Non-conformity with these limits is a fault. In proportion, the length of back, from withers to tail set, is equal to the distance from withers to ground.

Head Short, deep through, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop, short foreface, black nose. Pink (Dudley) nose to be considered a serious fault.

Eyes Dark preferable, but may bear some relation to coat colour. Round, of medium-size, and set to look straight ahead. Light eyes or pink eye rims to be considered a fault, except that where the coat surrounding the eye is white, the eye rim may be pink.

Ears Rose or half pricked and not large. Full drop or full prick to be considered a serious fault.

Mouth A bite in which the outer side of the lower incisors touches the inner side of the upper incisors. The lips should be tight and clean. The badly undershot or overshot bite is a serious fault.

Neck, Topline, Body The neck is muscular, rather short, clean in outline and gradually widening toward the shoulders. The body is close coupled, with a level topline, wide front, deep brisket and well sprung ribs being rather light in the loins. The tale is undocked, of medium length, low set, tapering to a point and carry rather low. It should not curl much and may be likened to an old-fashioned pump handle. A tail that is too long or badly curled is a fault.

Forequarters Legs straight and well boned, set rather far apart, without looseness at the shoulders and showing no weaknesses at the pasterns, from which the feet turn out a little. Dewclaws on the forelegs may be removed. The feet should be well padded, strong and of medium-size.

Hindquarters The hindquarters should be well muscled, hocks let down with stifles well bent. Leg should be parallel when viewed from behind. Dewclaws, if any, on the hind legs are generally removed. Feet as in front.

Coat Smooth, short and close to the skin, not to be trimmed or dewhiskered.

Colour Red, fawn, white, black or blue or any of these colours with white. Any shade of Brindle or any shade of Brindle with white. Black and tan or liver colour to be disqualified.

Gait Free, powerful and agile with economy of effort. Legs moving parallel when viewed from front or rear. Discernible drive from hind legs.

Temperament From the past history of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, the modern dog draws its character of indomitable courage, high intelligence and tenacity. This, coupled with its affection for its friends and children in particular, its off-duty quietness and trustworthy stability make it a foremost all-purpose dog.

Disqualification Black and tan or liver colour

Approved November 14 1989 – Effective January 1, 1990 NOTE: there is also one little mentioned defect that a Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeder could neglect to tell you of – because though undesirable it is not a serious defect. The defect is called Short Toes.

4) Finally – ask to see any certification that the pup has been Vet Checked – again a proper breeder will expect this.

Follow these simple steps and you will be well on your way to owning a healthy certified Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy that will capture your heart!

Many people will lose money in the stock market and go on a blaming streak. They blame the market for being volatile, they blame the government for raising or lowering interest rates, or they even blame their friends for giving them hot stock tips.

For the amateur trader nothing is ever their fault. Something outside of his control made him lose money on his last trade. If they buy a stock and the market crashes it isn’t their fault. After all he did what he believed was the right thing to do.

The professional trader thinks a little different. Everything that goes wrong is his fault. If he places a trade and loses money he takes the blame and looks to see what HE did wrong. They should have been prepared just in case the market crashes.

Funny how that works, trading armatures never make mistakes but professionals (the ones making money in the market) make mistakes all the time. At least that is how they perceive it. The Real benefit of accepting loss as a bad decision is it leads to growth.

When you blame others you assume that it was not your fault, so you do not need to improve on anything. When you take responsibility for your losses you tend to want to fix the mistakes you have made. You want to look back and see what you did wrong so that you will not make the same mistakes in the future.

The first question someone who lost money should ask is. Did I follow my rules? If not how can I make it so I follow my rules more closely in the future? Maybe you have to become stricter when following your investment plan. If you were following your rules and you still lost money then you should look at your rules.

What is the weakness of your trading strategy? (Every strategy has one). How can you improve it, how can you make it so you don’t lose money again in the future? Accepting the blame and attempting to fix the problem when something bad happens is the only way to enjoy long lasting success as a trader.

Portia Nelson is an amazing woman; a singer, songwriter, actress, and author who passed on in 2001. Her brilliant poem entitled: Autobiography in Five Short Chapters, is published in her book: There’s a Hole in My Sidewalk. Copyright © 1993 Portia Nelson, Beyond Words Publishing, Hillsboro, OR, USA. Used with permission.

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters

Chapter One. I walk down the street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost, I am helpless, it isn’t my fault and it takes me forever to find a way out.

Chapter Two. I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it, I fall in again. I can’t believe I’m in the same place, but it isn’t my fault and it still takes me a long time to get out.

Chapter Three. I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there, I still fall in, it’s a habit. My eyes are open, I know where I am, it is my fault and I get out immediately.

Chapter Four. I walk down the same street. There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

Chapter Five. I walk down another street.

Moving to a New Chapter

When you authentically know what this poem says and means, it will change your life. The secret of success in moving to a new chapter? To invest the time and effort to find, understand and integrate a new perspective which transcends your old context and increases your personal power.

Chapter One is the fascinating start. I’ve been there and, since you’re reading this, I imagine you have as well.

It can indeed take forever to find the way out. Your self sabotage mechanism will deceive, pretend and mislead you, causing innumerable delays in finding the solution. Even once you’ve unearthed it, you’ll find you also have all sorts of reasons to procrastinate over implementing it.

Chapter Two. You repeat the error that got you to fall in the same hole encountered in chapter one, yet you continue to pretend it isn’t your fault. But without taking responsibility for the issue, how can you change it? So you keep falling in, until you’re willing to stop pretending.

So see the problem, and see that you are the cause of the problem occurring in the first place. Willingness to do something about resolving it is the secret of success. Only then do you empower yourself to leave this chapter and move on.

Chapter Three. You are attempting to change and resolve the problem in the way you identified in chapter two. But you’ve fallen in this hole so many times that it’s a habit. But at least you know where you are, and how to recover your personal power, which you do immediately.

Chapter Four. You’ve overcome the issue, and you choose to keep avoiding the temptation to fall in the hole. But such opportunities continue to recur, it still requires effort on your behalf not to succumb to the problem.

Now you know exactly how to change your life, just walk around the hole. But you haven’t completely resolved the issue yet. You don’t yet know it well enough – you haven’t yet integrated all its aspects into your being – to be able to move on.

Chapter Five. You’ve completely overcome the issue, and it’s stopped reoccurring. You’ve let it go, and it has no energy left for you. So it’s stopped being attracted into your life, it’s over, and you have moved on.

Food for Thought

“If you start to think the problem is ‘out there” stop yourself. That thought is the problem.”

– Steven Covey, University Professor, MBA, ten honorary doctorates, author: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

© Copyright worldwide Cris Baker, LifeStrategies.net. Republishing welcomed under Creative Commons noncommercial no derivatives licence preserving all links intact. All rights reserved.

Although geothermal energy production is not really a renewable energy source, it is often classified as such, indeed, many consider it part of the alternative energy spectrum. Okay, but why isn’t geothermal energy production renewable you ask? Well, if you use the heat to create steam to spin turbines or harness that pressure, then you have to wait until it builds back up again, if you take too much, it takes too long to build back up and thus, it’s unreliable – kind of like solar energy production at night or wind energy wind it’s calm.

Okay so, let’s talk about safety and earthquake potential challenges with geothermal energy, and before we begin let me say I am not against geothermal energy done right, nor am I a hard core opponent. I run a small think tank, and remain a skeptic but am all for what works.

Now then, there was a rather troubling article in published on September 15, 2013 titled; “Geothermal Power Plants Are Causing Earthquakes Near San Andreas Fault,” written by Alyssa Carducci, which stated among other things;

“Geothermal power plants on the southern shore of southern California’s Salton Sea are causing earthquakes in the area, just 12 miles from the San Andreas Fault, according to a newly published peer-reviewed study. The study could not determine whether the geothermal power plants may one day trigger a larger earthquake along the San Andreas Fault.”

Okay so, this was an analyzed research study of earthquakes in the region over a 30-year period, and More than “10,000 earthquakes above magnitude 1.75 occurred in the area of the geothermal power pants. The largest quake measured 5.1 on the Richter scale; cite: 1 below.”

If there is a failure of a closed loop system or if the rising and lowering of the water level in the Salton Sea causes re-distribution of the pressure upon the plate, and if that causes sea leakage into lower levels where hot molten rock is then we have a real problem. Already there is fracking going on to free-up lithium at 3000 Ft below the surface not more than 60-miles from the Salton Sea.

Playing around underground, altering the underground water flows, lake levels or anything to the contrary in an area known historically for one of the largest faults in North America really isn’t wise, and to say it’s okay, without proper review, because it is renewable or alternative energy defies logic. Please consider all this and think on it.

Cite 1: Science 2 August 2013: Vol. 341 no. 6145 pp. 543-546, DOI: 10.1126/science.1239213, “Anthropogenic Seismicity Rates and Operational Parameters at the Salton Sea Geothermal Field,” Emily E. Brodsky, Lia J. Lajoie.

Cake baking is one of the most enjoyable procedures to follow; there are many steps that one has to take in order to get that sweet, lovely and perfect cake. Although some cakes come out lovely and perfectly cooked others tend to be faulty. Having a faulty cake is not one of the best moments of the person making it but they always want to know what happened. Therefore let us get to know some of the common faults that occur and their causes.

Faults and Causes During Cake Making

Cake rising to a peak and cracked

This happens when the heat in the oven is too hot, or when the cake is placed to high in the oven.

Open and coarse texture

This happens because of four reasons: too much baking powder, wrong portion of fat to sugar or the flour to the liquid, insufficient creaming or the heat in the oven was too much.

Dry and crumbled texture

Curdled mixture, too much baking powder or the cake cooked slowly.

Sinking in the middle

This is very common in cake baking, some of the reason are: over creaming, too much baking powder causing the gluten to over stretch, too much liquid or opening the door of the oven before the cake is set, it allows air in causing it to sink.

Large hole in the cake

This commonly occurs when there was inadequate mixing of the flour or when the mixture was poured into the baking tin little portions at a time thus forming air pockets.

Fruits settling at the bottom of the cake

This happens when one uses wet fruits or when the mixture is too light for the fruits used.

Heavy and close texture

This happens for several reasons:

i. Insufficient creaming of fat and sugar or during the addition of eggs

ii. Insufficient raising agent used

iii. Too much liquid

iv. Low heat fro.m the oven

v. High heat from the oven thus forming a hard crust from the mixture before the air expands.

vi. Insufficient cooking.

Cakes have a very high rate of collapsing therefore one should ensure that they have followed the recipe procedure correctly for that good quality to be presented while cooking. Some of the most common faults can be done away with by adding the right measurement in the mixture to avoid disappointments in the end. Follow the recipes to the end for the best results.

Basically there are two reasons for divorce which can be pointed out in the court . They are either divorce on fault grounds or no fault grounds divorce. Nevertheless, the true and less apparent reasons for a couple decision to divorce are often more interesting to study.

It is easier to see the reasons behind fault based divorce. Since evidence must be presented to the judge in order to verify why a divorce should be based on fault, there will be ample verification of the facts.

In a no fault based divorce, the reasons are so different that it is unlikely that two people would have the same reason why. Since divorce is so personal, people will answer their question from their own view.

Clearly, from all the statistical evidence that has been collected, there are usually a number of factors that contribute to divorce. Variations in the way parents raise their children, illegal drug use, or lack of funds can all be responsible. Additionally, environmental factors during your childhood also contribute greatly. Children of divorce are twice as likely to get divorced themselves.

Statistics seem to indicate that cohabitation before marriage increases the likelihood for divorce. Part of the correlation between premarital cohabitation and the eventual failure of the marriage is due to the pressure put on the couple to marry regardless of the status of their relationship. It’s possible that a couple who lives together before marriage may not have the same respect for the marital institution and, therefore, may not work as hard to maintain the marriage.

In conclusion,  no one wants to go through the divorce process for whatever the reasons.

The first call many people make after an auto accident is to their insurance company. If you are in the hospital, your friend or spouse might be making that call for you. However, you are looking at car repairs, medical bills and lost wages, so that call is going to be made and promptly.

Your insurance company listens to your version of the accident intently and then in a calm voice they ask the usual question. Do you have an accident report number? You pause, and give out the number the officer gave you on the back his card.

A couple of days go by, and you have been busy obtaining estimates of damage to your vehicle. You have also been experiencing low back pain and stiffness, so your doctor refers you to an orthopedic specialist. You are convinced the accident was not your fault, but you really did not get much time to talk to the police because the passenger in the other vehicle was bleeding from the head and needed medical attention.

In your mind, the accident was clearly the other drivers fault.The light at the intersection just turned yellow as you were going through it and the other driver made a left turn right in front of you. Because Michigan is a No Fault Insurance state you know your car will fixed and your company will cover it. But, you need to talk to your agent because you have a $1,000 deductible. You want the other driver’s insurance to cover that under the Michigan Mini Tort law.

So you call the agent. The agent tells you the bad news. The officer coded you at fault for disobeying the signal. In the accident report the officer quotes the other driver as saying he was in the process of making his turn when you speed up to try to beat the light just after it turned red. The other driver’s passenger agreed with that version. The report also lists the names of two disinterested witnesses, but gives no statement or information for those people.

This accident report is upsetting news to you for three reasons. The first is you do not want a ticket and the points. The second is that you do not want to be sued by that passenger that was injured. The third reason is that you are experiencing back pain and you have no idea what treatment you will need down the road. So, you would like to preserve your right to sue.

Under Michigan law, MCL 257.624, the traffic crash report shall not be available for use in a court action. The crash report is clearly not admissible as evidence. This is a great law. I can tell you based on over 30 years of experience that these crash reports often contain erroneous and unreliable information. For instance, take the individual that hits their head on the dash board. The officer may ask the person if they were knocked unconscious. In most cases the person will have no recollection of the event. So, their response is not reliable.

In the case we have been discussing, the driver could contact or subpoena the other witnesses listed on the report to ask about the status of the light at the time of the accident. Clearly if that person can verify that the light was yellow and the other car turned in front of him, it seriously hurts the credibility of the crash report. So, the crash report is not evidence.

The officer taking a crash report can choose to do a thorough investigation or simply write up a report and let the chips fall where they may. The bottom line is that some crash reports are completely wrong. The best way to tackle a crash report is to use it as a starting point to conduct your own investigation. One way to do that is to hire an investigator to interview and obtain statements from the witnesses. Then, if causation is a problem you will need to consider hiring an accident reconstruction expert to make conclusions based on scientific evidence. Either way the crash report is not admissible.

What is Mini-Tort?

Michigan’s no-fault laws do not require collision coverage. That is where the limited property damage liability or mini-tort provision comes into play. Limited property damage liability, known as the mini-tort exception allows for Michigan accident victims to recover up to $500 of their vehicle repair costs under certain circumstances. The purpose is to compensate a person involved in a car accident that was not at-fault for out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the collision. Michigan mini tort law is premised upon people being free to purchase their own collision coverage. If an individual has existing collision coverage, the full vehicle repair costs from the accident will be paid from that policy. However, even if someone has collision coverage, he can still make a mini tort claim for incidental, out-of-pocket expenses such as a deductible. There are varying degrees of collision insurance, but generally speaking it covers the cost of repairs to the driver’s own vehicle.

How do you qualify and what can be collected?
If you are without collision coverage on your car, or your coverage is limited, and you are less than 50 percent at fault for the accident, you can recoup some of your out-of-pocket costs to fix your car via the mini-tort. How much you can recover depends on how much fault you bear. For example, let’s say the damage to your car amounts to $100 and the other driver is deemed 75 percent at fault for the accident. Then he or she would pay $75. These cases are normally handled in a small claims court, but either party involved in the car crash may ask to have the case moved up to a higher jurisdiction.

How do you file a Mini-Tort claim?
To recover vehicle damage costs, you can write a letter to the insurance company of the person who caused the accident, and request the money. Include the police report proving the person who caused the accident was at-fault; a declaration sheet from your own insurance company showing your coverage; and an estimate of vehicle repairs and/or photos including the license plate. You have three years from the date of the car accident to file a mini tort lawsuit or collect your mini tort claim. After three years, your claim will be time-barred and you will be unable to collect your mini tort claim under Michigan law.

After a break up, you may find yourself at fault and perhaps the reason why your relationship didn’t work out. Maybe it’s her fault, maybe it’s yours, but whoever fault it is, you may end up wanting her back. This may take some time especially if the reason for breaking up is quite grave. To make things easier, here are some tips to win her heart again.

– Walk down memory lane – Do you remember all those stuff she likes? The kind of chocolate she usually eats? Her favorite store? It’s good to remember all these things and use this to win her back. Give her things that possess all her favorite things. Perhaps a floral dress in her favorite color could be a perfect gift if she loves flowers. Letting her know that you still know what she wants can make her think you’re sweet.

– Don’t give out the wrong signs – it’s not good to party while being with lots of girls. It’s not good either to be hanging out with just one girl aside from her. These may give her the impression that you don’t want her anymore and that maybe you’re not so serious about getting her back. These things will only offend her, so it’s better to be careful with what you’re doing.

– Be the best you can be – she already knows your negative side, so shower her with your good side. Be sweet to her, but don’t overdo it. Remind her why she liked you in the first place. Be spontaneous and surprise her with things she love. It may let her think that she still wants you and what you had.

– Be a man – If it’s your fault that you guys broke up, and then you should admit it. Don’t wait for her to apologize. Swallow that bitter pill and she’ll consider having you again. Your pride won’t do you any good, and she’ll hate you for being egoistic. Always remember that in a relationship, both sides are at fault. It’s never just one party’s fault. So it’s always appropriate to say sorry. It won’t hurt you.

– Make sure there’s progress – In whatever you’re doing, always make sure you’re making progress. Watch out for signs that tell you you’re actually doing great. These signs will also help you in your actions. If you think she’s still not responding to whatever you just did, then try something else.

Winning her back won’t be too easy, but if you think she’s worth it, then go ahead. It will also be fulfilling once she’s yours again. All you have to do is move the right strings of her heart, and you’ll be sharing those sweet moments with her again.