Simply say, ‘thank you’ — The Punch - Nigeria’s Most Widely Read Newspaper

Simply say, 'thank you' — The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper

punchng.com |by omosco on March 10, 2012

Thank you'. It sounds pretty simple, isn't it? There are many reasons to say thank you— after receiving a gift, or attendance of your graduation, birthday, baby shower, wedding parties, etc.

Every culture demands that you say, 'thank you.' It is considered right and proper that one says a 'thank you' after receiving a gift. It has to be timely too. Holding out for a year, no matter the circumstances, is rude.

So, let's start with sending thank you notes.

First, they must be handwritten. But considering the environment we are, this could be sent either by mail, Blackberry Messenger, Short Message Service, or any form of electronic communication. Starting 'thank you' notes is usually the hardest part, so just sit down and write one note. Then write another. If you keep that up, you will soon find that you are done and your manners will still be intact.

Moreover, these notes should be sent in a timely manner.  Etiquette experts explain that "timely" means doing it within three weeks of having received the gifts or any kind gesture (attendance of parties etc).

Thank you notes are to express appreciation for a thoughtful act, expression, or gift. They don't have to be long, but it is important to make mention of the gift received or the reason the note is being given. Don't say "thanks for the lovely gift." Say, instead "thank you for the beautiful necklace. It goes very well with a pair of earrings I bought last year." Discuss how you plan on using the gift and tell the person a little bit about what it means to your relationship with them. Allude to the future. You might say something like, "I am so glad you were able to come to my Christmas party. I hope our kids can get together some other time."

Another time that it is appropriate to write a thank you note is after a prospective employee has a job interview. It has been said that it is important to get that note written and sent by return mail. The prospective employee thanks the interviewer for taking time to speak with him or her and re-establishing why he or she would be a good fit for the job. Surveys have shown that thank you cards have often given prospective employees a keen edge over other interviewees when the decision of which person to hire is made.

If you are really delinquent in sending out a thank you note, apologise briefly and humbly. Don't belabour the point, though, as that will cause the recipient to feel like they were a burden to you.

When do you say thank you?

- For an act of kindness: When your child (ren)'s teacher invests his or her time and energy in them, a thank you is in order. Even if your co-worker is actually expected to do that job for you, saying 'thank you' shows you respect the working relationship and builds trust between you.

-  Thank others for everything— from opening a door for you to cleaning up after you or buying you a meal. Neglecting to do so shines a spotlight on your selfishness and tells others that you think the rest of the world should be doing those things for you.

- Say thank you when criticised constructively: Not everyone is out to get you, so remember to keep yourself in check as you are getting criticism. Always be willing to accept advice from those who you know are interested in your improvement. Then humbly thank them for the things that help you become a better person. Even if someone criticises you out of ill will, they still might have a valid point. When you get over your initial reaction, examine the critique for its worth and thank them for any valuable advice that may have slipped through their snide comment. Saying thank you in this situation does something very interesting to people. When they see that you are becoming a better person by taking their vicious advice, it confuses them. They might start to see that you aren't the threat they imagined and may begin to treat you differently.

When not to say thank you

-  Do not thank someone sarcastically out of frustration. An example? Imagine if your spouse locks the keys in the car on your way to the airport, a sarcastic "thanks" is only going to make that person feel worse. Hauling a sarcastic "thank you" out of frustration is only meant to make you feel important. Manners are about making others feel important! Have patience in that situation.

- Thank you is a special phrase that should be used for building someone up. Make it a habit to spend a little time remembering all the things your spouse does for you—parents and friends as well. Then, even if it's just a few words, say thank you often.

-  That goes for your kids too. Teach appreciation by example. Thank them for jobs well done. Thank them for working hard. Then help them know when it's their turn to thank someone else.

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punchng.com |by omosco on March 10, 2012

How to Make Reading on Your Computer a Better Experience

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A lot of us stare at a computer monitor for the bulk of our day and reading long articles or books is rarely a comfortable experience. With that in mind, here's a few steps you can take to make you reading experience less terrible.

The key to getting your computer monitor into shape is partially about reducing eye-strain, but it's more about creating an environment that's more comfortable to read. Let's take a look at a few of the tools you can use, starting with some simple monitor calibration tweaks and moving onto browser extensions, webapps, and a few other changes.

Calibrate Your Monitor Specifically for Reading

We've shown you how to calibrate your monitor for the best picture before and a lot of the same ideas apply here. However, instead of pushing for a vibrant, bright image, we're going to tone it down as much as possible.

We won't be needing any fancy calibration tools here. Instead, we'll just use the built-in tools on Windows and Mac to make the screen a little warmer. For Windows, the display calibration is the Control Panel > Display and in Mac OS, it's under System Preferences > Display.

• Run through the initial settings to adjust your basic set up, but pause when you get to the Set Basic Color Settings page in Windows or the Target White Point Adjustment on Mac OS.
• Drop the Color Temperature (Target White Point on Mac) into the yellow. This yellows the screen and provides a warmer look. For a lot of people, it also makes it easier read for long periods of time.

• Now your screen has a slightly warmer tone that makes it a little easier to read text on. If you're looking for a quick toggle that does the same thing, F.lux allows you to set the color warmth depending on the time of day for Windows, Mac, and Linux. For a lot of people, this makes reading long articles more comfortable, but to make it even better, we have to get rid of all the other junk on the screen.

  Enhance Your Reader

  One of the reasons reading on a computer is a pain is the amount of distractions on a single page. Trying to read a long article with a bunch of ads and weird layout makes it hard to keep your attention on the article at hand. Here's a few ways to get rid of the clutter and enjoy a clean reading experience.

  • iReader browser extension: The iReader extension for Chrome and Firefox drops all the clutter from a page and allows you to concentrate on what matters: reading. Click the iReader button and the extension pulls the text out of the page and gets rid of the ads and images.
  • Bookmark services: Instapaper and Read it Later are great bookmarking services, but they also make the experience of reading long articles a lot easier. If you want a service that customizes the look of the text and backgrounds, Evernote Clearly for Chrome and Firefox adds background and text color options to make reading a better. You can change the text and background color to fit whatever mood you prefer.
  
  

  Remix Your Environment for Better Lighting

  Lighting plays a big factor in your reading enjoyment whether you're reading a book or a computer monitor. While we typically can move around to seek out a good lamp when huddled up with a good book, the same can't be said about our monitors. Thankfully, there's a few things you can do to make the lighting work to your advantage.

  • Use a small table lamp instead of an overhead lamp while reading: Think about reading long articles or books on your computer the same way you do reading a book. Use smaller room lamps instead of overhead lights when you reading. Overhead lights are tough on your eyes and can make it difficult to focus on the screen. With a small lamp, it's often more comfortable to look at the screen.
  • Avoid windows behind you: Obviously this can't be changed by everyone, but if you can, avoid having a window behind you. The bright light from the sun reflects off the screen and creates a glare on the screen. Simply adjust the angle or direction of your screen to correct for this a little. Without the glare, reading long chunks of text is easier.

  Set Up an Adjustable Monitor Stand

  One thing you may have caught yourself doing when reading is leaning into the screen when you're deep into a good chunk of text. We likely do this because we're used to reading books a lot closer to our faces than we sit to screens. It's possible to set up your monitor for this so you don't have to lean in every time. Here's a couple different options to make this easy.

  • Set up your monitor on a mount: Monitor mounts like this one are handy for a number of reasons. Not only do they make it so you can adjust your screen for for better ergonomics, they also make it so you can pull the monitor toward you and get a closer look at the screen when you need it.
  • Create a rolling stand for your monitor: For a more DIY approach, you can put your monitor on wheels and roll it up to you when you need it. You don't have to spend a lot of money either, IKEA hackers shows how to do it with the incredibly cheap LACK tables by hiding wheels underneath the wood.

  If you can't get comfortable you can always print pages out, or send your text over to an ereader or tablet with the bookmarking services mentioned above. But if you're stuck in front of the screen without other options, the above tricks can make the experience of reading on a computer monitor better. Do you have any tricks for reading long articles or books on a monitor? Share them in the comments below.

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2015 Presidency: ACN / CPC Dialogue Over Gov Fashola – 247ureports

247ureports.com |by 247ureports

Published On: Mon, Mar 5th, 2012

Reports | By 247ureports

2015 Presidency: ACN / CPC Dialogue Over Gov Fashola

Gov Fashola of Lagos State

The permutations of 2015 presidency has begun. Information available to 247ureports.com through sources close to the headquarters of the Congress for Progressive Change [CPC] indicate that the political owners of the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN] and the CPC have openned channels of communication against the upcoming presidential elections of 2015. This is as stalwarts within the two political parties have sighted the unfolding political upheaval squiring around the regions of the country as an opportunity. A source confirmed.

According to the information received, the feelers from within the political movers of the two parties indicate President Goodluck Jonathan is near certain to not join the presidential race in 2015. According to the source, the growing religious tensions among the religious fundamentalist in the various regions of the country is believed to play the determinant role on President Jonathan's decision to walk away from the polls. They believe that the President will make the decision  to not contest largely due to the expected unrest in some regions of the country, and lesser on his pledge to serve one term only.

On the mood of the silent rejection by the north of President Jonathan's presidency and the southwest outpouring of public anger towards the presidency following the sudden hike in the price of petrol – along with the striking silence of the southeast and south south regions of the country, the two parties believe they could tap into the opportunity. In their take, the southwest and the north will not vote for a Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] candidate for President in 2015.

This notion is boosted by a recent online chat where the former minister to the federal capital territory of Nigeria, Malam Nasiru El Rufai [a member of CPC] told 247ureports.com that the CPC would prefer Governor Fashola of Lagos State be given the presidential ticket – aside from General Buhari who was the presidential flag-bearer for the CPC in the 2011 elections. A source in CPC however discounts Gen Buhari's ambition as unattainable in 2015 owing to the perception of Buhari being a religious zealot. Non-Muslims are reported to be uneasy with Buhari's candidacy. According to the source, Gov Fashola [also a Muslim] does not carry the same baggage that Gen Buhari carries – and would not alienate non-Muslims around the other regions of the country.

"Talks between agents of the General's presidential campaign team and that of ACN are taking place in Abuja", stated a source in the government house in Lagos who went on to deny that Governor Fashola is considering dumping the ACN for the CPC – and that the governor has not indicated interest in the joint presidential ticket. The source however stated that the governor has been in talks with top CPC personalities in the likes of Pastor Tunde Bakare, Malam Nasiru El Rufai along with Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] governors from two northern states. The source admitted that although the Lagos State governor might have not made a decision, his body language and demeanor indicates "he is entertaining it".

Adding an unlikely twist, Governors of two northern States, Kano and Jigawa States, in the persons of Gov Kwankwaso and Gov Lamido, both PDP members have indicated interest in joining the presidential race in 2015 under the PDP – just as the Vice President of Nigeria, Arc Namadi Sambo has also indicated interest in joining the fray. Sambo's decision to join the fray has in turn changed the dynamics for the two northern governors – because of the fear the of not winning the PDP presidential ticket against the candidate-ship of Sambo. This realization has in turn led them to the doorsteps of the CPC and ACN -particularly to the office of the Lagos State governor.

The former governor of Lagos State and the strongman of ACN, Bola Tinubu is reported to be determined to beat the PDP in the upcoming 2015 presidential race. He is said to have begun underground preparations against the 2015 exercise. According to a source, Tinubu has made clear indications to the northern political elite that the ACN is willing to collaborate to produce a joint ticket in 2015. In particular, the ACN strong man has begun marketing of Gov Fashola to the northern political elite as a viable candidate that is sell-able to the south and to the north. According to sources, Bola Tinubu has met with some Governor's of the States in the north – the likes of Gov Nyako of Adamawa State and others.

stay tuned

Politicians

Politicians

A busload of politicians were driving down a country road when suddenly the bus ran off the road and crashed into a tree in an old farmer's field.

The old farmer, after seeing what happened, went over to investigate. He then proceeded to dig a hole and bury the politicians. A few days later, the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus and asked the old farmer where all the politicians had gone.

The old farmer said he had buried them.

The sheriff asked the old farmer, "Were they ALL dead?"

The old farmer replied, "Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how them politicians lie."

Jonathan, Sambo, govs to pay tax on personal emoluments

vanguardngr.com

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BY Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chie
ABUJA — The personal emolument of President Goodluck Jonathan and his vice, Namadi Sambo, will henceforth to be taxed under the new Personal Income Tax, PIT, Act 2011 (Amended).

Also to be taxed are state governors and their deputies.

President Goodluck Jonathan (middle); Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (left) and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State during President Jonathan's stop-over at Warri Airport enroute Bayelsa State to inspect the explosion on Chevron platform, yesterday. Photo: Henry Unini.

Under the new law, members of the public who earn N3.2 million and above per annum are also to pay as high as 24 per cent as tax to the government.

On the other hand, low income earners who receive less than N300,000 per annum could pay only  one per cent in the new tax regime, according to Chairman of Joint Tax Board, JTB, and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, who briefed the press in Abuja, yesterday.

Her words: "With these new provisions, the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors will now pay tax on all their income as is done by every other tax payer."

She described the new PIT as "a more equitable tax system" than the old and that the new rates were "realistic," as high income earners would be made to pay heavy PIT, while the poor are relieved by being made to pay just a token.

The new income bands and their corresponding tax rates are: First N300, 000, 7 per cent; next N300,000,11 per cent; next N500,000,15 per cent; next N500,000, 19 per cent ; next N1.6 million, 21 per cent; and above N3.2 million, 24 per cent.

Until the PIT Act was amended last year, it operated on rates where those who earned N30,000 per annum were paying five per cent; next N30,000,10 per cent; next N50,000,15 per cent; next N50,000, 20 per cent and above N1.6 million, 25 per cent.

Mrs Omoigui-Okauru added, however, that all tax payers would receive a simple-to-administer Consolidated Relief and Allowances of N200,000 plus 20 per cent of gross income deductible allowance from each tax payer's income before computing tax on the balance.

Under the previous regime, there were allowances and reliefs such as N2,500 per annum for children subject to a maximum of four children and dependent relative allowance of N2,000 per annum, as well as a housing allowance of N 150,000 per annum and transport allowance of N20,000 per annum, among others.

The JTB chairman said the board would introduce a "Presumptive Tax Regime for the informal sector and other persons, whose incomes are not easily verifiable.  and added, "by this provision, the tax authorities can now use presumptive basis for determining the tax liability of such tax payers."

Mrs. Omoigui-Okauru explained that the new act was a demonstration that government listened to Nigerians and that the PIT would now become more effectively administered, expressing confidence that the nation would be better for it in terms of high tax revenue.

Her words, "With the new Act, government has demonstrated that it has a listening ear and reduced the overall burden on low income and middle income earners, while recouping these from high net worth individuals, who will be expected to bear a higher burden given their level of earning.

"The amended Act also introduced an overall simplified process of compliance, which is expected to attract a high rate of voluntary compliance and widen the taxpayer base of tax authorities.  This in turn is expected to lead to a higher yield in personal income tax collection.

"The provision of a defined, accessible and cost-effective process of dispute resolution by the tax appeal tribunals provides an independent outlet for taxpayer complaints and resolution of such".

The Chairman warned individual tax evaders and corporate organization who deduct workers' taxes and refuse to remit to the tax authorities that the game was over and that they would be made to face stiff penalties.

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Original Page: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/jonathan-sambo-govs-to-pay-tax-on-personal-emoluments/

What’s wrong with microwaved foods?

Good food is an essential part of living and good cooking is the way there. Microwave ovens have fast become a companion to beat in quick cooking.

Today, virtually every kitchen and restaurant has one. But how true is the claim that foods cooked in microwave ovens may cause cancer, lower Intelligence Quotient, cause heart disease or fatigue?

Radiation experts on ehealthmd.com say no particular health risks linked to microwaved foods except for safety measures in using it.

Here are tips on cooking healthy foods with microwave ovens:

•Don't heat food for infants and young children in a microwave

•Never microwave food for longer than the recommended time

•During microwaving, stir food thoroughly for even cooking to reduce risk of bacteria lingering in it

•Formula or breast milk that is re-heated in a microwave should be tested before giving it to a baby

•Do not overheat water and other liquids to avoid spilling

•To cook well, put larger pieces of meat on medium heat for a longer time not on high heat for a shorter time

•Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of cooked meats, poultry, and eggs.

•Red meat should reach 71°C, poultry 82°C, and egg casseroles 71°C. Fish should flake with a fork. Leftovers should reach 73°C.

•Do not cook whole, stuffed turkey in a microwave as stuffing might not get properly cooked

•Don't use metals in microwave ovens unless manufacturer specifies it is safe

•Use only reusable plastic containers marked 'microwave safe' are tested for 240 hours in microwaves

•Don't run your oven without anything in it.

View full page: www.punchng.com/spice/kitchen/whats-wrong-with-microwaved-foods

How To Access Your Ebook Library on Your iPad via Dropbox - How-To Geek

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You're a reader on the move and you don't have time for a tethered sync—that's no problem. Today we'll show you how to keep your ebook library synced to your iPad via Dropbox.

Whether you're reading novels, brushing up on your favorite RPG manuals, or otherwise consuming ebooks on the go, this tutorial will show you how you can leverage your Dropbox account to keep your documents at your finger tips.

What You'll Need

For this tutorial you'll need the following things:

• An iOS device (we're using the iPad because it's best suited for reading with its larger screen)
• A free Dropbox account and the desktop Dropbox application.
• A free copy of the Dropbox iOS application.
• A free copy of Stanza eBook Reader and Kindle for iOS.

The free applications you require are dependent on the kind of ebooks you read. If, for example, you have no MOBI formatted ebooks, you can skip downloading the Kindle app as Stanza will handle ePub, PDF, and Comic book container formats (like CBZ) just fine. You can substitute your own reader applications in depending on the formats you want to read. It's important, however, that the application you choose supports the "export" function and will allow Dropbox to import a file into it—more on this later in the tutorial.

Getting Started with the Basic Setup

Before we proceed you'll need to have a few things in order. First, you'll need a Dropbox account. If you don't have one already, head over to Dropbox.com and sign up for one. They provide a great getting started tutorial that will walk you through setting up your account and installing the desktop application. While you don't have to install the desktop app, it really defeats the whole push behind this effortless syncing tutorial, so we highly suggest it.

Once you have Dropbox set up (or if you already have an account and everything is ready to go) make a new folder in the root of your Dropbox account /Books/. We further subdivided our books folder into /Books/, /Comics/, and /Manuals/. The last one isn't as dry as it seems, we copy game manuals over to use during play. You can customize your sub-folders as you see fit.

Second, you need to install the Dropbox application on your iPad. Take a moment after installation to launch the app and authorize it to your Dropbox account using your login credentials.

Finally, install a copy of Stanza and Kindle for iOS on your iPad; the two applications cover a wide range of formats. Those of you that followed along with our How to Access Your Ebook Collection Anywhere in the World tutorial will already have Stanza installed!

Populating Your Drobox Book Repository

Once you have the basic applications installed, it's time to populate your Dropbox book collection. Round up some ebooks in various formats to dump into the folder you created (or, if you use Calibre and have a Dropbox account big enough, you can just move your entire Library into your Dropbox folder). Whatever folder structure and accompanying files you include in the transfer will be the folder structure and files you'll see when you're navigating your Dropbox from your iPad.

Since neither the Dropbox application nor the ebook readers we'll be using have any sort of mechanism for the conversion of ebook formats, it's important you check that the books you wish to read on your iPad are in a appropriate format. Kindle for iOS can handle MOBI files. Stanza can handle ePUB, PDF, CBR, CBZ, and DjVu format books. Convert books accordingly or install additional ebook reader apps to read other formats.

For this tutorial's workflow test we copied over ePUB, MOBI, PDF, and CBR formatted files.

Open the Files in Dropbox on the iPad

Once you have the files copied on your computer to the appropriate directories, it's time to grab your iPad. Open up the Dropbox app and navigate to the /Books/ directory we created earlier in the tutorial.

Here it's important to stress one aspect of the Dropbox iOS application. Unlike the traditional desktop Dropbox application, the mobile versions for Dropbox do not actively push out their contents to the mobile user—ostensibly to cut down on wasted bandwidth and overage charges. Think of your Dropbox folder like a virtual shelf when it comes to your book collection. You need to take the book off the shelf in order for it to be available in the Dropbox cache (depending on the settings you specify, Dropbox for iOS will catch anywhere from 250-1000MB of data on the device, more than enough for ebooks). Thus when you open the file in Dropbox, it becomes available to Dropbox mobile (assuming you have data connectivity where you are). Once you open it in Dropbox and export it to the reader application, it becomes a permanent part of your mobile book collection and is then maintained by the reader application and not Dropbox. How does this play out in practice? Let's demonstrate.

Navigate to the /Books/ folder and pick a book to read, preferable a non-PDF since Dropbox can natively open that format. We're going to pick and ePUB file. You'll see a brief file-loading bar and then the Dropbox logo will appear where the document should be with the error "Unable to view file" beneath it. That's fine, we have a program that can view it! Tap on the export icon in the upper right corner of the screen like so:

If you don't see the application you want to use there, don't panic. If you have more than 4 potential export applications you can scroll up and down to find the one you want (when you first open the export dialog box there is a scroll bar on the side but it vanishes after a scant second or so). If you don't see Stanza right away, scroll until you see it.

Tap on Stanza to begin the export process. The interface will swap over to Stanza and you'll see your importing file with a progress meter. Once the file has finished importing (it takes only a few moments) you'll see the new book in the Downloads section of Stanza:

Tap on the book to open and enjoy it like any other book you've imported into Stanza via iTunes or downloaded from the greater Internet.

That's it! Simply repeat the process for any other book, comic book, or compatible document in your Dropbox to import to appropriate application—such as using the export function to send MOBI formatted books to Kindle for iOS. You can use this trick to send virtually any document that has a compatible reader app to the iPad or other iOS device.

View full page: www.howtogeek.com/106521/how-to-access-your-ebook-library-on-your-ipad-via-dropbox