Hammered by hail?

Oh! Have found some info for people who were affected by the disaster! Please, read next to know how to behave in such situation and how to help other people.

Hail stones crashed through windows, dented vehicles and damaged roofs Wednesday afternoon. Homeowners insurance covers damage from wind and hail, and damage to vehicles from hail and flooding is covered if you carry comprehensive insurance on your auto policy. Great! Now what?

The Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. recommends that you take the following steps.

· Be prepared to give your agent or insurance representative a description of any damage. Your agent will report the loss immediately to your insurance company or a qualified adjuster. Some companies also have 24-hour, 800 numbers for claims assistance.

· Take photos of the damaged areas. These will help with your claims process and will assist the adjuster in the investigation.

· Prepare a detailed inventory of all damaged or destroyed personal property. Be sure to make two copies—one for yourself and one for the adjuster. Your list should be as complete as possible, including descriptions of the items, dates of purchase or approximate age, cost at time of purchase and estimated replacement cost.

· Make whatever temporary repairs you can. Cover broken windows, damaged roofs and walls to prevent further destruction. Save receipts for supplies and materials you purchase. Your company will reimburse you for reasonable expenses in making temporary repairs.

· Secure a detailed estimate for permanent repairs to your home from a reliable contractor and give it to the adjuster. The estimate should contain the proposed repairs, repair costs and replacement prices.

· Serious losses will be given priority. If your home has been destroyed or seriously damaged, your agent will do everything possible to assure that you are given priority.

American Airlines to close call center in Windsor, Conn.

Hi guys! Maybe you have read this before, but I have found this note some time ago. What do you think about this and what is your opinion about this situation?

WINDSOR, Conn. – With fewer people flying and more people booking flights online, American Airlines will close its 500-worker call center here, according to spokesman Guillermo Sanez.

Some of the workers may get jobs in centers elsewhere or be able to work from home, he said.

American Airlines has already scaled back the number of flights and the size of the airplanes it flies, said Sanez. He said the airline has cut the number of seats available on its flights by 7.5 percent in this year alone.

“And more then that over the past few years,” Sanez said. “We are a smaller airline.”

R. Nelson Griebel, president and CEO of MetroHartford Alliance, a group that acts as a regional chamber of commerce and economic development agency said the airline was looking to cut costs.

“Not just cost of having those employees, but the overhead cost of maintaining that office,” he said.

“With more people booking online, fewer people are calling. People don’t use call airline call 1-800 numbers the same way as they once did. The same way as they don’t use travel agents the way they once did.”

The call center had 800 employees when it moved to Day Hill Road from downtown Hartford in 2002, said Jane M. Garibay, executive director of the Windsor Chamber of Commerce.

Sanez said previous cuts in staff came through attrition. This time around, the 500 remaining workers are being given the option of moving to call centers in Tucson, Ariz., Raleigh, N.C., or Dallas or of working from home.

American Airlines would link both its phone lines and its reservation system with worker’s homes through the Internet, Sanez said.

“So if a person has a quiet place in their home where they can work without interruption, this might be an option for them,” Sanez said.

Workers will have months to decide, he said.

Sanez said some of the 500 workers live in Massachusetts, but he couldn’t say how many. He also wouldn’t say what the average salary is at the call center or how many jobs are available for the 500 workers.

Garibay said even though American Airlines was far from the town’s largest employer, the news was still a blow.

Windsor has 28,000 in population but another 22,000 commute into the town for work each day. She said there is not much vacant office space available in Windsor, so she thinks American Airlines landlord will be able to attract another employer to the site.

The wonder and danger of the Internet

Oh! Today I have found a message that made me think about the role of the Internet in our lifes. Sometimes it is so useful and amazing! But sometimes it is ful of danger! Be aware and read next!

The Internet has expanded the opportunities for young people to explore the world.

It provides access to hundreds of thousands of responsible information sites and has opened the possibility of immediate communication with other people.

Unfortunately, things on the Internet are not always as they appear.

Lurking about the chat rooms and the social-networking sites, such as Facebook, are people who take advantage of the naivety of children by pretending to be children themselves.

Their goal is usually to entice the child into a sexual situation, ranging from explicit conversations, the sharing of pictures or even actual personal contact.

Parents can minimize the possibility of an unwanted Internet communication by following some safeguards.

Explain to children that, while the Internet is a valuable tool, it can also be a dangerous place.

Talk to them about the potential for online danger.

Instruct them never to agree to a face-to-face meeting with anyone they meet on the Internet and never give out their real name, address, school or phone number.

Internet predators may tell children to phone them collect.

That is no safeguard as the child’s number will be available on call display.

Some predators have gone so far as to obtain 800 numbers so that the calls will not show up on the parent’s phone bill.

Children should not post pictures of themselves on the Internet.

Not only is it dangerous now, it could also be embarrassing in the future, as several politicians and would-be-politicians know.

Keep the computer in an area where the monitor is easily seen.

It is difficult for predators to communicate with children when their messages may be visible to adults.

Monitor the sites the children visit by using the computer’s history setting.

Use parental controls that may be available through the Internet service provider.

Try to have access to the children’s e-mail accounts and check them.

This may be easier to do for younger children, but the older ones are computer savvy and will have several e-mail accounts.

This column is part of a series of informational articles aimed at increasing public awareness about the services provided by the Kamloops Victim Services Unit.

The unit offers a variety of information and services, at no cost, to any victim or witness of crime or trauma.

All unit members have received specialized, comprehensive training in victims’ issues, the criminal-justice system and crisis-intervention techniques.

Jobs Americans WILL Do.

I was just surfing the Internet, when I found this story.. I would like you to comment this note for I could know your opinion.

One small favor from this disastrous recession: slightly fewer reporters are mindlessly scribbling down the phrase, “jobs Americans won’t do.” More than 400 NumbersUSA members wrote to me personally after my fundraising email on Monday. About 275 of them told me they are unemployed. Another 100 reported that their retirement income is so small that they cannot donate.

Many of those writing me are making ends meet in unusual ways. In fact, you wouldn’t believe all the jobs that they used to do and would very much like to do again.
Former factory workers, former construction workers, even a cotton picker, wrote me. They are all active, faxing and phoning members of NumbersUSA.
Some have taken jobs that younger people really ought to be doing.
Listen to Pat’s story:

I do everything I can – faxes when you give me the chance, phone calls too – (isn’t it a shame our representatives can’t afford 800 numbers to their offices so that ALL their constituents can call with their thoughts and moral support? I’ve written them about THAT, too.)

I DO appreciate your disclaimer regarding ‘ability to pay’. We are retired and our life savings were wiped out on my medical bills (even though we have insurance). At age 67 my husband delivers pizzas 3 nights a week – and by the third night, he is just dragging. If you will keep giving me the opportunity to fax I will. I call whenever I can (luckily I have a cell phone – which allows me to call as I couldn’t afford the long distance bills if I had to pay each call).

I appreciate the wonderful work this organization is doing and am so glad you have offered a way for me to get so personally involved, even though I have no spare money to send you. (I was emailing and calling before I ever found your site. The ability to fax is a great addition for me.) Keep the faxes coming and I’ll keep sending them on – nearly always with my own personal comments rather than the standard text. (I’m maybe a little more militant in my wordage and that makes me feel a little better when I can get my thoughts off my chest).

Again, keep up the great work and thank you for letting me be involved. You have come upon a great system that encourages and allows many more to be involved.

~Pat N, of Texas

Pat’s email says so many things that I’d like to underscore.

1. This 67 year-old American’s husband is willing to work as a pizza delivery man, even though common sense says younger people would be better able to do that job. Americans are just like any other industrious people. When they have to put food on the table, any job is better than no job.
2. Pat got my message that we only want donations from people who are able to pay. If you’re on a small fixed income, or unemployed, or sick, or otherwise unable, let other people bear the burden.
3. It’s refreshing for me to read hundreds of letters from members who, like Pat, are so grateful to NumbersUSA for allowing them to fax Congress even though they cannot contribute. “Pat, you’re welcome!” You really need to thank the many thousands of NumbersUSA members who can and do pick up the faxing tab for those who cannot help.

Pat, thanks for contacting me. Thanks for using our faxing system to amplify your voice. Thanks for making the calls that make a huge impact. Thanks for working hard and keeping your head up.
I say to you, Pat, what I tell so many– “Keep the faith, and never give up!”

JIM ROBB is Vice President, Operations for NumbersUSA

Views and opinions expressed in blogs on this website are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect official policies of NumbersUSA.

Google Voice: Cool, But Not Really New

Found a note wroten by the RingCentral user. I was interested because, as I said before, I am also their client. So, I put it here for you could get acquainted with this info.

For all the hoopla over Google Voice, I have to wonder why it’s such a big deal. Have people never heard about RingCentral before? Yes, I know we’re talking about Google, which apparently makes it an instant hit, but most of the features have been available for years.

As a RingCentral customer, I’ve had most, maybe all the important features of Google Voice for three or four years. And I have features–like multiple local numbers in different calling areas–that I haven’t seen mentioned for Google’s service.

Pricing alone makes Google attractive for me as a home user, but having an 800-number, plus local numbers in several cities, makes RingCentral worth paying a premium for in my business.

RingCentral is also selling multi-line systems, allowing a virtual company to use a single virtual PBX system. This further distances RingCentral from Google Voice, at least for the time being.

I have not actually used Google Voice, except as a caller. My invitation has yet to be sent, though I work with people who already use the service and are extremely happy with it. Much as I am extremely happy with RingCentral.

What I like most about both RingCentral and Google Voice is their shared ability to ring multiple phones in an attempt to find me. I also like being able to screen calls by listening to an incoming voice message while it is being recorded, and then answer if I want to.

I used to do that with an answering machine and the Google Voice/RingCentral feature is only slightly less useful as you have to answer the call to hear the caller leaving the message.

The ability to turn voice messages into text and deliver it as e-mail is a Google Voice feature that many people are going to find useful, and something else RingCentral lacks.

Overall, Google Voice is more feature-rich, an issue RingCentral will have to address in order to justify its pricing.

Or maybe it won’t have to. Google could get into trouble if its free pricing forces competitors out of business. Maybe RingCentral and its ilk won’t get bigfooted by Google after all, though it’s pretty hard to compete with free.