What the marketers would have you believe

It seems marketers live in a world designed by Rod Serling where everything bad is ignored, most things are satisfactory and an alarming number of service providers are outstanding. J.D. Power and Associates is one of the largest marketing information companies in the world. It produces regular ratings and reports on how we view an industry in general and how we rank individual companies within that industry. So, for example, a recent report finds us satisfied with our banks and it lists the banks we think are the best. OK. So there is always a slight time lag between the collection of data and the publication of the results of analyzing that data, but this seems a strange result. In the midst of a recession with a record-breaking number of banks failing, predatory terms for credit cards and other credit hard to find, you might wonder where J.D. Power found the people to answer their survey questions. Well, the results of their 2009 survey of our attitudes toward vehicle insurance providers is also out. You will be stunned and awed by the revelation that customer satisfaction is up significantly this year! Some 23,000 human beings claiming to hold policies were polled in March and April, 2009.

So what has apparently prompted this rise in the level of satisfaction with the insurance industry? Well, it seems the insurers - kind, caring and sensitive to a fault - have been reducing their premiums. In the earlier years of this century, we were all increasingly unhappy as those premium notices kept coming in with ever higher numbers written on them. But, come the recession and the insurers step on to the mound, they pitch premium reductions. According to J.D. Power, some 42% of all those insuring vehicles found their premiums fell during the twelve months period to April 2009; and that's without having to change companies! Since we are all price sensitive, we now love insurers because they are saving us money. We all love their websites and find there are real improvements in the way the companies relate to us. That, of course, excludes claims handling which is the most important interaction. It seems no-one worries about the poor service on claims handling.

Which brings us to admit how we arrive at our prejudices. According to J.D. Power, we can all be bought by a few dollars of reduction in the premiums. Before the recession, the majority disapproved the quality of the service provided by auto insurance companies. Now we love them. Well, that's the result you get when you ask questions about an industry's image and design the questions to get mostly positive answers. Of course, we can like a company that reduces its prices. We can also admire the quality of its website and marketing materials. But if the questions do not focus on our experience when we try to claim following a traffic accident, the results of this hyped report are misleading. When you are shopping for the best auto insurance companies, do not believe the ads. Check out the companies on the website operated by your state's department of insurance. Verify their financial stability with the ratings agencies. You do not want to pay your premium and then find the company is insolvent. Use reliable sources of information when looking for a policy.

Hong Kong Christmas Lights- LED

Tsuen Wan MTR station goes LED Christmas Decorative lighting

Every year Tsuen Wan MTR terminus has being well make up with lot of lights from end November till Chinese New Year. Since 2008, Tsuen Wan District office had decided to go LED to replace the incandescent lamps for such Christmas lights.

In Hong Kong, there are a lot of Christmas lighting in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui Commercial Centre. In recent studies 20 out of 24 major buildings in Hong Kong Island are still using incandescent lights, rough estimation there are minimum 100,000 light bulbs that could produce 1,100 tons of CO2 in beginning of December till 20 Feb 2010.
That amount of Energy is an equivalent of 360 Families' total electrical power consumption for 1 year.

I think Hong Kong is an advance City, but in the sense of environment protection, we are still in the Stone Age. Same as this Super Powers gather in Denmark spending two weeks time in meeting.They created 200,000 Tons of Co2 emission by flying Denmakr. After all, there is no committment at all. The cars are still running with low efficient enginrs, People are till using incandescent light bulbs. There is only about 0.1% of the general lighting is using Efficient LED.

Only LED manufacturer and LED manufacturing equipment company could possibly save the world by producing High Power LED that can beat the price of the Incandescent Lamp with same amount of lighting intensity output. I think we have to wait for another 3-5 Years!

feverip

Japanese Ramen Noodle Bath Spa

Here comes another weird and bizarre spa in japan, what kind of spa is that?? that was a Ramen Noodle Bath Spa. it's really suitable for those who love ti eat a ramen noodle.

Ramen noodles are a staple of the Japanese diet as much as sushi and tempura and the spa, which specializes in amusement baths that include dips in chocolate, wine and sake, decided the popular dish should be added to the menu.

Because of health regulations, the Yunessan spa in Japan's hot spring town of Hakone does not use edible noodles.

Instead, noodle-shaped spa treatments are placed in bath water that contains elements from pork broth supplied by a nearby noodle shop.

Spa officials say taking a dip in the noodle bath is good for health as ingredients in the broth such as pepper collagen help improve the bather's metabolism and cleanse the skin.

"Lately, people are very concerned about having beautiful skin and they know the effect of collagen, which is contained in our pork-based broth," said noodle shop owner Ichiro Furuya, who has helped the spa in creating this bath.

"At this bath, everybody can have fun and take advantage of the healthy elements of ramen noodles."

The Japanese spa resort has offered dozens of other baths, including at one point a curry dip.

A ticket that allows access to all baths costs about 3,500 yen ($29), although not all were impressed.

"Actually, I like eating noodles batter than bathing in them," said five-year-old Madoka Kenmochi, after taking a dip in the brown-colored hot water.








Source of the News : Unbelievable Stuff

Military Camouflage of Supercars

The Military Car is is a wheeled armored vehicle, lighter than other armored fighting vehicles, primarily being armored and/or armed for self-defense of the occupants. Other multi-axled wheeled military vehicles can be quite large, and actually be superior to some smaller tracked vehicles in terms of armor and armament.

But this military car below is an exception, this is the military camouflage of supercars. have you seen a lamborghini car used as a military car before?? seems impossible right?? but it's the fact.

So do you want to see the military car that used a supercars?? i think this supercar was more suitable if used as a police car since they have a great speed. several days ago we post about the collection of Police Supercars around the world.

OK here is the Military Camouflage of Supercars Pics

Health Insurance for Students

No-one said life ever has to be fair but, as parents, you quickly discover the world is not set up to make things easy for you. There are challenges at every turn. Of course, all the healthcare needs can be put on the back burner if you or your partner have a family plan provided by your employers. Now all you have to do is read the small print to see what coverage is provided for children while they are at elementary school or high school while still under the magic age of 18 years. After they pass the threshold of their eighteenth birthdays, the coverage gets more patchy. They are still family members but the extent of the coverage may change. If you have not been fortunate to find an employer offering health coverage as part of the pay package, the world has been less welcoming. It's entirely possible that you and your family are one of the growing millions who are uninsured or underinsured. This leaves a number of options to explore for the children.

For some years, the federal government has recognized that children are the future of our country. If they do not grow up strong, the future may not see the US remain so dominant internationally. So, with federal encouragement, states have been offering a safety net for children. The alternatives are Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program which was established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to expand health insurance coverage to uninsured children in families with income too high to qualify for Medicaid. For the record, Congress has provided about $40 billion to fund SCHIP through 2007. Federal funding is currently available. Outside the federal and state programs, some elementary and high schools group together to offer health coverage for their students where the families are uninsured or underinsured. Some states have not set generous criteria for access to their SCHIP and the group policies help the modestly well-off families bridge the health plan gap.

Once children turn adult at 18, they are mostly on their own. If you as parents provide private coverage, this can represent the best outcome as they work their way through college and university. Otherwise, this leaves the young adults to live with the risks of no cover, or accept one of the "affordable" policies offered by their college or university. It's a sad fact your children will consider themselves invincible. Many are lucky and survive the education part of their life without accident or illness. But if anything serious goes wrong, they will add significant medical expenses to the burden of loans and credit card debts. Local community clinics can only provide basic care. The college or university policies are often highly affordable. More importantly, starting a health insurance for students gives them track record when they later seek coverage as an employee. But one word of caution. These are not comprehensive policies and they often limit or exclude serious injuries or disease. As parents, you may feel it wise to top up the basic cover. Get multiple health insurance to find the best value additional cover. Even if your children are enrolled as medical students, they cannot expect anything more than routine treatment from the medical professionals in their area. They will be treated as "ordinary" students when it comes to paying the deductible and any copayments.

How credit rating affects insurance premiums

Having a good credit rating will pay off in the end. Why is that? Well, insurance companies tend to offer lower rates to customers with a good credit rating, because they are considered to be less risky. And taking into account that your credit score is one of the most essential factors determining your risk grade, it's really wise to keep it as good as possible. Insurance companies are approaching credit ratings from statistical point of view, which states that people with better credit scores tend to file fewer claims than people with worse credit records. Such tendency was observed only during the past decade, while historically homeowners insurance had a strong emphasis on the insured structure itself and its condition, leaving the owners and dwellers out of the frame.

Today insurance companies base their insurance rating on credit records, predicting the likelihood of an individual to file a claim and what will be the amount of such a claim. It is the result of long-time analysis undertaken by insurance companies, official regulators and universities, which in the end has proven that a person's credit score is a firm and very reliable indicator of how much the person is likely to risk or file a claim.

Here are some main assumptions about credit rating and insurance scores provided by the Insurance Information Institute, New York:

• Such scores give the possibility to set the rates more accurately.
• Such scores tend to be more objective and impersonal, leaving behind other factors like age, sex, nationality orientation and avoiding discrimination.
• Such scores promote competition among customers, giving them real chances of improving their insurance rates.

Of course, thinking that you will get better rates with a good credit rating while having many problems with your home is quite optimistic. Credit rating is only one element of the entire picture as there are more factors determining what home insurance will cost you in the end. And the importance of these factors varies from one company to another. For example, one company may have a strong emphasis on the materials of the structure and how safe the house is in general, while another will look deep into your credit report and base its rates according to your rating.

Other factors that will influence your home insurance rates include the location of your house, safety features, overall condition, your age, marital status, children, pets and many other elements that may influence the overall risk on your property.

Still, if you are looking to get lower rates on your home insurance, it will definitely pay off to improve your credit score. One way to do so is to avoid having bad debts or due payments, minimizing the number of open accounts and credit lines. In case you had some credit problems in the past, try to improve and eliminate all the entries, which are no longer relevant. The first step here is to get your credit report and analyze it thoroughly to see what can be improved and how.

Amazing Bat Limo | The Dark Knight Limo

Everyone should be familiar with these car. a bat mobile is batman's supercar, several months ago we also give you the real batmobile by leif garvin It took Leif Garvin more than 3.5 years, 20,000 hours of work, and 1 million US dollars to convert a 1973 Lincoln Continental into a Batmobile.

Now forget about that batmobile replica, now we have another great modifications of this dark knight supercar. actually i don't know who modify this car into a cool luxurious batlimo.

The Dark Knight’s limo was spotted on the streets of New York, but strangely enough, he wasn’t the one driving it. Sadly, apart from the fact that its started out as a normal limousine (probably a Corvette C4), the photos and video below, there isn’t much info on the awesome Bat-limo.







Here's the Video of this amazing Bat Limo

Watch the Video Directly from Youtube