Effective Advertising and Info Management

I get half of the world traffic for the term “dirtbagging,” on one page of my backpacking site, but that only means ten visitors a month. Without decent keyword demand you can’t ever get much traffic. Total demand is just one factor to consider, though. Here are some others.

1. Demand/supply ratio. There were 289,000 searches for “fishing” last month, but could you compete against the 35,000,000 results on a Google search? “Bass fishing tips,” with 3,700 searches, and 31,000 results is a more likely winner.

2. Total supply. For “dirtbagging,” Google shows 240 results, and there may be 20 searches monthly for the term. It was easy to get on the first page of results. On the other hand, a keyword with a demand of a million, and a million search results has a better ratio, but can you really get in the first few pages of results? Whatever the ratio, you have to be able to compete against the supply. If you are on the tenth page of results, virtually nobody will find you.

3. Type of keyword. Getting good search engine placement is one thing, but what type of visitor are you getting? Who is more likely to buy something from you or click on your affiliate links, a searcher for “fishing stories,” or “fishing poles.” If I was selling gear, I think I’d be happier with half as much traffic for the second term as the first.

4. “Odd” keywords. I optimized my site www.IncreaseBrainpower.com for “brain power,” and later found there was even more traffic for “brainpower.” Both, by the way, are in the dictionary. Look for odd search phrases, but be careful optimizing for misspellings and bad-grammar keywords, if it might hurt the reputation of your site.

5. Value of keyword ads. If you rely partly on Google Adsense for revenue, you may want to consider the ads that will be diplayed for a given keyword. Poetry pages will get you about $0.04 per click, while surveilance cameras can get you $2.00 per click.

A final consideration when doing keyword research is to consider your interest in the topic represented by the keyword. Do you want to write a page on that, and can you deliver what a searcher of that term is looking for?

About the Author

Steve Gillman writes on many money-related topics. To learn more, and to subscribe for FREE to “Web Site Optimization Secrets,” go to: http://www.TheMoneyMakerSite.com

Many business people (particularly solo-entrepreneurs) are always on the lookout for more customers. Who isn’t? (Actually I know a few, more on that another time.)

And every businessperson knows that customer growth takes time.

However, we are also told in books, seminars and workshops that it’s the little things we do every day that contributes significantly to that growth.

So what are some of the things we can do today, and possibly every day, to ensure consistent customer growth in the months ahead?

Here are 5 to start with …

1. Have Purpose - normally purpose is about the grand scheme of things. “What’s my purpose in life” and all that. That isn’t what I’m talking about. What I mean is: with each person, contact, phone call - have a purpose. You might say have a ‘mental objective’ for that next catch up coffee. In the next call you make, what do you want to achieve? When you next go through your schedule create a solid priority list for that day.

2. Don’t be a P.O.W. (Prisoner of Work) - what this means is that you will control your day. You will make decisions quickly and decisively. You won’t let other people’s agendas negatively affect yours. So decide now (yes, now!) what you’ll accept and what you won’t tolerate. If there is a person who constantly interrupts you, take steps to stop it happening (politely). Stay focused on your customers.

3. Decide who you want to talk to each day - suppliers, prospects, customers, colleagues. You decide who is important and make time for each of your priorities. If you put customers at the top of the tree, you’ll find that’s how you spend your time and energy. Write down their names each morning and make a call/visit or write a note/email.

4. Ask for feedback - this is exceptional. Find 5 customers every day. Call them or send them a survey. Ask them what they thought of the service and how it could be improved. Thank them for their input and send them a hand written note to say so.

5. Ask for referrals - if you do the 4 items above you’ll have created an opportunity to ask for a referral. So ask. But don’t be clumsy about it. After you’ve done all the necessary work, ask something like: “Thanks for the information Jim. Who else in your industry do you think could provide me some feedback on this?” or, “Thanks Jane, I need to ask a few more people about the X product. Anyone you know at the Chamber who could help?”

Note something when asking for referrals: don’t ask “Is there anyone who may be interested?” The field is too broad. You will have more success if you narrow the field to an area of focus like we have above: “your industry” and “the Chamber”.

If you have a Top 5 or Top 10 things you do each day, I’d be keen to hear from you.

Bill James-Wallace helps his clients grow their business through better and more strategic customer relationships. Drawing on his 18 years experience in the financial industry as a Sales Manager and Manager of Training & Development, he helps business owners play on the same field as corporate entities.

Bill can be contacted at bill@resultdrivensolutions.com
His blog-based website is http://www.resultdrivensolutions.com

Celebrity sedu hairstyles are everywhere and you only need to open up a magazine to see pictures of sedu hairstyles but do you really know how the celebrities are achieving these great looks?

From Paris Hilton sedu hairstyles to Emma Watson sedu hairstyles, all the famous celebrities are now sporting this seasons hottest looks and they are getting them thanks to the revolutionary new sedu hair straightening iron and of course their own personal stylists. Of course for the ordinary person you can achieve your very own celebrity sedu hairstyles from the comfort of your own home just by following some very simple tips and guidelines.

Achieving Celebrity Sedu Hairstyles

If you want to successful achieve Paris Hilton sedu hairstyles or even Emma Watson sedu hairstyles then the first thing you will need to do is purchase a sedu hair straightening iron. These are not the same as your basic hair iron and will cost you a little more, but let’s face it, for celebrity sedu hairstyles they really are worth it and so much easier to use than standard models.

The next thing you will need to do is learn a few of the celebrity sedu hairstyles secrets and these include washing and drying your hair before using your hair straightener and applying styling tonic from root to ends. You will also need to style your hair in sections beginning with the bottom section and working your way to the top. This not only ensures the perfect celebrity sedu hairstyles but also gives a longer lasting hold.

To finish your look whether its Paris Hilton sedu hairstyles or Emma Watson sedu hairstyles you will need to add a small amount of finishing wax to your hair. This should be smoothed along the outside of your hair and only a very small amount is needed to finish your look.

So there you have it, the way to celebrity sedu hairstyles without having to pay huge stylist fees.

Looking for a new hair style? Looking for more info on celebrity hairstyles ? Find it all on the Celebrity Sedu Hairstyles Bible. All about hairstyles on http://www.leandernet.com

Have you always wanted to create a more realistic, dramatic affect to a picture like rain but never knew how? well, here are some simple and efficient ways you can easily do them. They are all easy to follow and depending on what you like, will always turn out right.

Well, here’s how to create a “realistic” if you may of any ordinary picture with reflections, rain, rain drops, wetness, etc… its fairly simple and can turn out perfect if you try.

Now, here is the example I am using.

___ http://articles.motortoday.com/news/Evo8FQ400/Evo8FQ400-1.jpg

The image is courtesy of motorday.com and its rightful owners.

Here is the outcome of the image.

___ http://sixpop.com/images/images/33727102.jpg

All I did was I added all the effects you see, removed the logo to show the reflection, and repaste it when i was done into a black background to mimic the orignial picture. Below are the steps

**********
Now, I am assuming you have some knowledge of Adobe. If not, let me know and I will post an in depth tutorial with screenshots.
**********

HERE ARE THE STEPS FOR THE RAIN

1. Find an image that you would like to make into an effect like this.

2. Create a new layer and name it rain. Also, color it all white.

3. Then go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise.
—http://sixpop.com/images/images/88790575.jpg

4. Make sure “Monochromatic” and “Gaussian” are both checked on the bottom. I usually use between 300-400 for the %. Feel free to choose whichever you prefer.

5. Next, go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur
—http://sixpop.com/images/images/3265833.jpg

6. The angle reflects the angle the rain will be coming in and the distance reflects the distance the blur is apart from eachother. Heavy rain and light rain.

7. Select the rain layer and change the layer option to “Vivid Light” (at the top left of the layer pallette). Now, change the opacity to around 80%, or your liking (top right, the top one where it says 100%)

HERE ARE THE STEPS FOR THE REFLECTION

1. Use the lasso tool(L) to select a portion of the image you want to reflect. For my image, I use just the car. Lasso-ing the shape around the car.

2. Copy the selection and paste the selection onto a new layer.

3. Now, right click on it and select “Free Transform”

4. Now, you will want to right click on it again once you see the rectangular selection. Choose “Flip Horizontally” or “Flip Vertically” depending on what reflection you need. For my example, I chose “Flip Vertically.”

5. Move the image to the bottom near the tires. Once you are there, move the cursor to any corner of the rectangular selection and rotate it so it aligns with the original picture.

6. Go to Filter>Distort>Ocean Ripple and change the Ripple Size to like a 12 and the Ripple Magnitude to like a 2. Or to your liking.

7. Once again, go to the Opacity and change it to like a 50% or to your liking.

FOR THE CENSOR

1. Choose the rectangular tool and make a selection of the license plate.

2. Go to Filter>Pixelate>Mosaic. The default setting should be good, if not, change it to your liking.

All done, if you would like to know anything else… like the little rain drops around the car, how to remove the logo, wet tire look or anything.. let me know.

Enjoy.

MORE INFO CAN BE FOUND AT http://www.writingup.com/taejien

In Steven Covey’s excellent book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” he tells a well-worn story about the use of time.

In the story, some professor guy (I think) stands at the front of a class, with a big jar. In the jar, first of all he puts some big rocks, and asks the class, “Is it full now”.

Mostly they say, “Yes”.

Then he gets some smaller rocks and these fit in quite nicely too, just between the big rocks. Again, he asks the same question, “Is it full now?”

The group, a little more suspicious say, “Yes”, because it seems to be.

He then gets out a bag of sand and surprise, surprise, those tiny grains of sand squeeze down beside the smaller rocks, filling up the tinier spaces. “Full?”, he asks.

“Sure”, say the increasingly dubious bunch of students in the audience.

Finally, trump card is the water, smaller than sand, of course and finally, as we aren’t getting too sub-molecular about it, the jar is full.

Impressive huh?

The professor then asks,

“What’s the moral of the story?”

Of course the class, thinking they’ve spotted the trick here, say,

“You can always squeeze a bit more in”

A standard and pretty smart reply. The professor, however, is a step a head (all that professorism does it, of course!).

“The moral of the story is that you need to get your big rocks in first, or all that other ’stuff’ gets in, way too soon and takes up all the space.”

Cool story?

The point of course, relates to managing your time.

What are your ‘big rock’ things?

Well, for sure it isn’t all the little jobs you do. All the fire-fighting (or it may be in the short-term, but that is another day).

The trick is to create spaces, ring-fenced, as they say, to do the good stuff.

In business, this is a list something like this:-

1. Planning for the future

2. Time with your people - good, focused one-on-one time preferably

3. Coaching your people in their work

4. Developing others around you

5. Delegating constructively

6. Creating Succession Plans

7. Building relationships

8. Developing new business opportunities

9. Fixing problems once and for all

10. Making time for a life outside the business

There are more!

Covey and his big rocks eh?

He calls them Quadrant Two activities. If you don’t spend time putting these first into your schedule, truth is, you will never fit them in and things will never evolve and grow.

© 2005-6 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.

All computers have thousands of ports that are used as communication paths between the PC’s applications and services that are required on a network. Ports are like little open doors that allow two or more applications to talk to each other. Your computer has 65537 ports that may be used for various types of communication and data exchange. Of these, only 1025 are commonly used and designated as “well known ports”. All software applications require the use of ports in order to work, but the majority of ports are not used for anything, creating a potential security risk if left open.

Quite often certain unneeded ports are left wide open by operating systems, browsers, and other installed applications, leaving secret back doors open on your computer. Most software developers frequently issue patches, service packs and hot fixes when they discover a security hole such as this, but many still go undetected. Software updates will close the open ports that the developer is aware of, which is why it’s so important to perform regular computer updates.

Hackers and malicious software applications take advantage of open ports to infiltrate your computer. Spyware, viruses and other types of malware utilize open ports to retrieve information, destroy data and corrupt operating systems. Since unneeded open ports represent the “unlocked back doors” into your computer, it’s important to prevent unauthorized access. A good way to see how vulnerable your computer is to outsiders is to do a port scan. Many security vendors offer an online port scan that will show you exactly how far into your computer a hacker can get. Once you learn what your PC’s vulnerabilities are, you will see that it’s time to get some protection.

A Firewall is the Best Defense

The best defense against the vulnerabilities associated with open ports is a good firewall. Firewalls act as a “guard” between your computer and the internet, allowing only authorized data in or out. Data packets that are not needed by you or your applications are blocked at the door, so they never get near you. Many firewalls also have a feature called “stealth mode”, which makes your computer invisible to outsiders.

Software Firewall

For most home computer users, a software firewall (also known as a personal firewall) will provide sufficient protection. This type of firewall installs on your PC and is designed to protect your computer only. It is like having your own personal bodyguard. Some excellent firewall programs are made by internet security companies such as McAfee, Computer Associates, Zone Labs, Symantec, Sunbelt-Kerio, Trend Micro, and AVG - just to name a few. Software firewalls are the ideal security solution for laptop users who often access the internet from hotels, airports, coffee shops, etc…

Hardware Firewall

If you have a home network or business network, a hardware firewall is the best choice of protection. Hardware firewalls are security appliances that sit between your internet connection and the computers on your network. As opposed to protecting only one PC, a hardware firewall will protect all the computers on the network. Excellent hardware firewalls for business use are made by SonicWall, Barracuda, Hot Brick and Checkpoint, just to name a few. For home use consider D-Link, Linksys, or Alphashield.

It doesn’t matter whether you use a hardware firewall or personal firewall, or even both. The main thing is that you do use a firewall to protect your computer from the vulnerabilities of open ports. Today’s cyber-criminals are very sophisticated, and will take advantage of every security hole available. The best defense against this dangerous security issue is a firewall.

DJ is a corporate IT Manager and author of the following sites covering information technology topics: Computer Security for Everyone, http://www.saveonphoneservice.com, and http://www.antivirus-firewall-spyware.com

Average statistical mother thinks that her baby differ from other children only with the quantity of little wrinkles of his wrists, habit not to sleep at night and scream deafeningly in day. Children, who sleep like tops and do not yell, only squeal quietly sometimes, become the object of general jealous envy. However, it is not always good when a baby sleeps a lot, and it is not always bad when he screams boldly.
Dear parents, remember: during the first year of life, a base of character and destiny of a future adult person are forming. So, it is very important to observe your baby’s development.

Notice!

There is a whole section of psychology and a considerable area of psychoanalysis, which are devoted exceptionally to peculiarities of infantile age. Experts advise to pay attention to the following moments in your baby’s behavior.

1. The way he cries
Weeping is a universal method to inform about baby’s needs, express his feelings, gain a desired goal and… ventilate his respiratory tract. A strength of crying depends on a baby’s character, his psychic state and physical development. The bigger a baby’s volume of lungs is, the louder his cry is. Prematurely born babies, for example, do not cry at all, just squeak quietly, like kittens.

2. The way he sleeps
Pay attention at your baby’s duration of sleep, the way he falls asleep and behaves while awaking. During day and night sleep, children gain strength and grow. During sleep, neurons of long-term memory fix all day impressions and process received information. Duration and character of sleep show a baby’s temperament.

1. Strong and well-balanced sanguine persons sleep little and well.

2. Strong, irrepressible choleric subjects sleep little and bad.
3. Calm and sluggish phlegmatic persons sleep much and well.
4. Sensitive and delicate children with a weak type of nervous system sleep much and uneasily.

3. What or who he prefers to look at
This can be some animate object: mother, father, some strange person; or inanimate object: magazine cover, toy, play of light and shadow on a wall. TV set, showing some movie, is an equivalent of a human being.
Sociable or very emotional children prefer to look at people. Secluded from birth ones fix their look at some objects and nature.

4. What he likes to play with
The one who likes toys usually thinks in a more standard way, than the one who is reaching for forbidden spectacles or mobile phone.

Typology of babies
“Leader”
He cries emphatically and loudly. He falls silent as soon as he receives the desired. He always strives for his goal: if he is hungry, you will not be able to distract him with a rattle, and if he wants to be taken in hands, he will be shouting till he is taken in hands. He falls asleep late, sleeps well, but little. He has an in-born talent to train his parents: as soon as he receives the desired, he becomes sweet like an angel, blinks sweetly, and mother with father are just ready to do everything to see this mildest expression on their baby’s chubby little face. A future leader begins smiling early and fixes his sight not on some objects, but on his relatives, on which his well-being depends. He likes company, but hates being holding for a long.

What he needs
He needs a careful and firm attitude. On no account break his individuality. Parents should encourage a baby’s good behavior, but not letting him push himself around or letting him tearing a book to pieces or throwing a toy away.

And who he will become then
Purposeful, decisive, persistent and active.

If everything goes wrong way
Strict and severe parents, suppressing independence of a future leader, will form a lonely wolf-cub or a broken and passive unlucky person. Too tender and permitting everything parents will receive a high-quality home tyrant.

“A closed book”
He is quiet and comfortable in exploitation. He seldom cries, only in case of real physical need of hunger, thirst or pains in stomach. He is sleeping almost always. Sleep for him is often an equivalent of heart-rending crying: not receiving the desired, he gets away from, hoping that while he is sleeping, the situation will change. After awaking, he is lying quietly for a long, he is interested in himself. He does not require from parents to stay with him all the time. Since birth, a world of objects attracts him more, than a world of people. He can smile to a bright vase or a swinging branch, looking through the window. He treats all people with equal indifference, is not afraid of anybody, sits like a sack of flour in all adults’ hands, obedient and inert. He early chooses one person from his people, as his emotional canal of connection with the world, and often this person is not his mother.

What he needs
You should treat him respectfully, not intruding into his inner world with kisses and loud games. A mother should observe his peace, a father should explain things to him and protect him. It is good to introduce him many different people for communication, so that he could choose a friend to his liking. Mother should not be jealous of him because of a nanny or granny. He loves mother more, but feels easier with someone else.

And who he will become then
Original and deep thinker, engineer or mathematician, chemist or programmer. While having troubles, he will always shrink into his shell.

If everything goes wrong way
An importunate mother-sitting hen, taking care of his each step, will turn him into a secluded paranoiac. An indifferent one will grow a dullish loser or misanthrope of him. A strict and “birching” mother will receive a cruel egoist, not able to compassionate others’ distress. A callous and emotionless one will grow a queer fish.

“Fragile like glass”
He often cries, calms down slowly, hiccups, sighs and whimpers. Sleeps long, but always bad, awakes routinely and requires being hold and lulled. He cannot stay alone even for a moment, he is glad to company. Physical closeness to mother and father calms him down. Sometimes he cannot bear bright light, loud sounds, what shows his especially delicate nervous system. He carefully selects his people, some he may ask to hold him, others he can push away. What is interesting, very often it turns out that he does not like people who conceal some hostile intentions towards his relatives.

What he needs
He requires double care, than other children. Adults always should respond to his crying. It is impossible to spoil or pet him: the more warmth he receives from people, the more stable and strong-willed he will become in future.

And who he will become then
A boy will turn into a dream of all women - a strong and tender man. A girl will charm everybody with her amenable, kind and stable character.

If everything goes wrong way
If you start showing tenacity, thinking that a baby will cry and stop, you will grow a nervous, always offended and malicious adult person. If you start scolding and punishing a child, you will form a shy and passive person of him. And you will have to patronize him during his whole life.

“A creative personality”
He hates sleeping, as sleep stops his activity on learning and creative transformation of the world. He does not cry, groan or coo after awakening, in order to attract adults’ attention and make them come. He smiles to parents gladly, likes different odd objects more than plain toys. He begins to take to pieces objects surrounding him earlier, than he starts talking. He prefers communication at distance: tale, singing or presence near him to physical caress. He calms down because of words, not touches. He laughs and gesticulates to attract other people’s attention to some object to his liking. By the age of 1, he starts showing monstrous obstinacy - give or show this to him.

What he needs
You need to talk and explain everything to him, not thinking whether he understands a lot.

And who he will become then
Gifted, curious, life-loving, quick-tempered and passionate.

If everything goes wrong way
If you suppress sharply his attempts to reach and learn, try to slap, then depressed inquisitiveness will turn into aggressiveness. By school age, a child will turn into an uncontrollable hooligan with poor progress.

“Delicate like mimosa”
He cries with a thin, whining voice and falls silent quickly. Such baby has no powers to have his will, shout until he is heard, and, after 10 minutes of groaning, he disappears in nonentity because of hopeless despair and sleeps round the clock, as if he is under anaesthetic, while his mother is boasting of her wonderful quiet child to her friends. He begins smiling late, freezes in mother’s or father’s hugs in perfect bliss, and often his parents take him for a “closed book” and leave him alone. However, a “delicate” baby is not interested in objects, nature and his own ideas of world. Instead of playing with a rattle or pyramid, he examines his hands, reaches for a mirror and TV set. He needs people. He is shy and does not have persevering seduction of a “leader” or hysterical obstinacy of a creative personality, does not shrink into his shell till better times, like a “closed book” does, and does not win over adults displaying them boisterous love, like a “fragile” baby does. He is more helpless, than other children, incredibly sensitive, shy; he suffers and stops in development without adults’ attention.

What he needs
He needs a lot of external manifestation of love, touches, constant presence in his field of vision. A mother should think well about who will stay with a baby, if she decides to go back working.

And who he will become then
They can become extremely talented musicians, designers, teachers, brave defenders of all weak and miserable.

If everything goes wrong way
Even loving parents, but not realizing the whole degree of delicacy of a child’s nature, can suppress a baby’s talents and contribute to his change into sickly hypochondriac or a clumsy with zero self-appraisal.

Your baby is afraid of nobody and agrees to go to all strange people’s hands
The first variant, age one: probably, your baby is still too little. Children start reacting to their and strange people since 6-8 months.
The second variant: a baby is so used to bathe in kindness and attention of other people, that he loves everybody. However, he loves more his people all the same, and, being in strange people’s hands, he fidgets and searches for parents.
The third variant, sad one: he has so little love and attention of adults that he is ready to reach for everyone who will smile to him. A baby does not distinguish his people from strange ones. This is a state, typical for babies from boarding school.

The way to understand that a baby feels stress, not just plays up
1. He is crying all the time, round the clock.
2. His character of sleep has changed suddenly, he sleeps either less, or much more, or worse now.
3. He stops doing what he could, does not smile anymore, does not want to hold head, sit or seize rattle, play hide-and-seek or stand on feet.
4. He does not smile and laugh.

5. He refuses eating.
6. Disposition appears on his body.

If your baby has although one of these suspicious symptoms, show him to podiatrist.

Yana Mikheeva is the creator of the WomansPassions site for women and about women at http://www.womanspassions.com, it is an on-line resource for women and about women. Here you can find articles on various subjects, such as: diets, receipts, health, cellulite, figure, aromatherapy, wholesome food, psychology of relationships, pregnancy, parenting, fashion and many others.
She also has a blog for women at http://www.womanspassions.com/blog/.

118 118 Directory Enquiries is now the market leading directory enquiries service in the UK and it’s 1 of the most accurate as well.

If we all review around how notably 118 118 has pulled off since it was 1 st announced to the market you yourself will find that all that is a lot. More than fifty percent of the British public want to use the directory enquiry business services more than any other competitor. All this confirms that they are believed in and that the directory enquiry company gives you a service which works rather well and the public use in a day to day basis. Although we all associate the business with only suppliers of organisation & UK public telephone numbers, you should see that the directory company now provide even more than this. You may rely on the directory firm to provide one with train times for the arrivals & departures, this is for the huge majority of train journeys up & down the UK, they should of course be practiced to tell one cinema times & listings for any British movie theatre you require, you yourself will enjoy the option to discuss the film times with the company or the company will patch you right to the cinema you want to speak to. Really a load of the British target market only link the the business services with the telephone but nevertheless, they has now went out far further than this. If you need business contact details fast, then use the 118 118 Directory Enquiries service.

The company of course offers a text MMS service, this permits the directory business United Kingdom customers to achieve access to the most recent tennis scores from all the big time sport leagues, pub quiz support where one can text & ask 118.com a quiz question and 118 118.com should MMS you yourself back with the exact quiz answer British lottery results can be text msg to your phone as well. Although this txt service is not a cheap service if one are desperate and in real need of any info then the the directory company MMS services is going to be incredibly helpful to you.

Now that the NFL has a 17-week schedule with teams playing 16 games and each getting one bye week, there is no official mid-point of the season. However, through nine weeks every team has played at least eight games, so this is about as good a time as any to offer a brief mid-season report.

There are 15 teams currently at .500 or better (Colts lead the way at 8-0), three teams at 4-4 and 14 teams which are under .500 (Packers and Texans ‘lead’ with both at 1-7). Eight teams have won at least six games, while an equal number have lost at least six games. The eight “haves” are a collective 51-14 SU (.785) and 42-21-2 ATS (.667). The eight “have-nots” are a collective 14-52 SU (.212) and 24-41-1 ATS (.369).

I often talk about the pointspread being the great equalizer but that hasn’t been the case so far. All of the teams with at least six wins sport winning ATS marks, with the Colts and Giants leading the way with 6-2 records. Not a single one of the teams with at least six losses has a winning ATS record, although the Packers are 4-4 ATS. A closer look shows that the Packers, despite a 1-7 record, have actually OUTSCORED their opponents in 2005 (168-159)!

Those of you with good memories will realize that the team’s lone win, 52-3 over the Saints in Week 5, greatly influences this freakish stat. Still, has there ever before been a 1-7 team, outscoring its opponents? It’s hardly just that one game, as Green Bay has lost by two points to Cleveland, by one-point to Tampa Bay, three points to Carolina and three points to Minnesota.

Losing teams that outscore their opponents are not all that rare, as both Kansas City (7-9) and Carolina (7-9) did it just last year. The Chiefs outscored their opponents by 48 points while the Panthers outscored their opponents by 16 points. If Green Bay continues to stay well under .500 while scoring more points than it allows, I’ll start doing the historical research.

At the other end of this spectrum, no winning team in 2005 has been outscored by its opponent. However, the Pats are 4-4 and have been outscored by 40 points! If they were to win at Miami on Sunday and not by more than 40 points, they would fall into the category of a winning team getting outscored by its opponent. That situation is very commonplace (I’ve done numerous articles on it in the past), as both the Jaguars and Seahawks (both 9-7 in 2004) were outscored by 19 and two points, respectively.

However, the team of note last year was the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons finished the regular season at 11-5 and made it all the way to the NFC title game, despite outscoring opponents by just THREE points in the regular season! Maybe the Pats will be this year’s Falcons?

I mentioned at the beginning of the season that making the playoffs year-in and year-out in this man’s NFL is not easy. In fact, while the Pats entered the 2005 season having won THREE of the last four Super Bowls, the year they missed winning during that span (2002), they failed to even reach the playoffs. Entering this year, only the Eagles (five straight) and the Packers (four straight) owned consecutive playoff streaks of more than three seasons. Clearly, the Packers playoff streak will end in 2005 but how about the Eagles?

Philadelphia sits at 4-4 (same as the Pats) but the Eagles’ 4-4 is much worse. While New England sits atop a very weak AFC East, Philadelphia finds itself in last-place in the NFC East, arguably the league’s toughest division. The Eagles are far from ‘dead’, as they host the Cowboys on Monday night and visit the Meadowlands the following week. However, they better start winning soon or they will continue a trend in which four straight and five of the last six Super Bowl losers have failed to post winning records the following year!

The Bengals owned the longest playoff drought entering the 2005 season, having last been to the postseason in 1990. They entered the 2005 season with a stretch of 14 consecutive playoff-less years. Behind Cincinnati was Arizona with six straight non-playoff seasons. Buffalo, Detroit, Jacksonville and Washington have each missed the postseason the last five years.

Obviously, at 7-2 through the season’s first nine weeks (Bengals have a bye in Week 10), Cincinnati is a huge favorite to end its playoff-drought. However, they are still “the Bengals”, so let’s not jinx them! The Cardinals are 2-6 so we can just about pencil them in for a seventh straight non-playoff season. As for the teams with streaks of five straight playoff-less years, the 5-3 Jaguars and Redskins are threatening to end their streaks!

Over a five-year period (2000-04), 25 of the 60 playoff participants (41.7 percent) have been teams that were .500 or worse the year before. Atlanta (from 5-11 to 11-5), the New York Jets (6-10 to 10-6), Pittsburgh (6-10 to 15-1!) and San Diego (from 4-12 to 12-4) all made the playoffs in 2004, coming off a non-winning seasons in 2003.

Expect more of the same this year. There are five 5-3 teams through Week 9 that finished with losing records in 2004. The list includes Chicago (5-11), Dallas (6-10), Kansas City (7-9), Tampa Bay (5-11) and Washington (6-10). The 6-2 Giants went 6-10 in 2004 and the 6-2 Panthers went 7-9.

Larry Ness is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Larry_Ness.htm

Chris Farley and David Spade team up in Tommy Boy, a 1995 comedy about an incompetent, intellectually-challenged auto-parts heir who is forced to save the family business following his father’s untimely death. Utterly hilarious from beginning to end, it’s one of the best comedies of the 1990s and continues the long tradition of cult classic comedies that helped cement the careers of former Saturday Night Live cast members. The onscreen banter between Farley and Spade is unrivaled, making Farley’s premature death all the more of a loss. Throughout Tommy Boy, Farley’s unique brand of Belushi-like humor and good-natured demeanor make this comedic gem blossom into a masterpiece…

Tommy Boy follows the life of recent college graduate Tommy Callahan (Chris Farley). Picked up from the airport by Callahan Auto employee Richard Hayden (David Spade), Tommy’s father “Big Tom” (Brian Dennehy) announces a surprise engagement to his new girlfriend Beverly (Bo Derek). Beverly has a son of her own, Paul (Rob Lowe), who travels into town for his mother’s wedding. Ecstatic to finally have a brother, Tommy takes Paul out on a personal tour of his hometown of Sandusky, Ohio - where the idea of a wild night of fun consists of cow-tipping. Paul is anything but amused.

On the day of the wedding, however, Big Tom suffers a heart attack, and without the big guy running the show, Callahan’s clients grow weary about doing business with the over-extended Callahan Auto Parts. With the Callahan bankers reneging on their promises to loan the company much needed capital, the board of directors considers selling out to Ray Zalinsky (Dan Aykroyd), a rival auto parts salesman who “sells auto parts to the common man, because that’s who he is and that’s who he cares about!” But selling shares means closing the current Sandusky manufacturing plants and putting hundreds of employees out of work.

Intent on averting that outcome, Richard and Tommy decide to hit the road and sell Callahan auto parts face-to-face. However, when Tommy bungles a number of meetings and Richard comes across as arrogant, the two lose more orders than they gain. Meanwhile, Tommy’s love interest, ex-high school classmate and Callahan employee Michelle Brock (Julie Warner), uncovers a surprising truth about Beverly and her supposed son Paul. With the future of Callahan Auto and the town Sandusky hanging in the balance, it’s up to Tommy, Richard, and Michelle to put a stop to Beverly and Paul before they sell a majority of Callahan shares to the cold and calculating Ray Zalinsky…

Directed by Peter Segal, producer of such hits as Anger Management (2003) and 50 First Dates (2004), Tommy Boy is one laugh after another. If you haven’t seen it, you really don’t know what you’re missing. Chris Farley and David Spade create the perfect comedy duo. Written by veteran TV writers Bonnie and Terry Turner, screenwriters for the 1992 phenomenon Wayne’s World, Tommy Boy is one of those rare comedies that’s well-written and hilarious without being overly outlandish. Highly recommended…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Tommy Boy (DVD).