t may be hard to conceive, but unclaimed life insurance policies make up nearly 30% of all life insurance benefits because of poor bookkeeping, ie., change of address or name as well as family members being unaware of a deceased person’s having more than one life insurance policy.
What happens if no one ever reports the death at all?
The policy lapses and life insurance companies should take steps to why payments have been neglected. Like any other uncollected bill, the insurance company will probably send letters stating that lapse of payment will result in lapse of coverage. If letters go unanswered may begin an investigation and/or allow the policy to lapse as stated.
Sadly, if a beneficiary to a policy never appears all that insured paid monies for perhaps a lifetime will go to no use so it makes good sense to make sure beneficiaries are aware of any policies one may be holding.
In some cases when a beneficiary fails to claim a death benefit for several years, the money is transferred to the state where the insurance policy was purchased under the escheat laws.
In fact, some states do not presume unclaimed life insurance policies because of abandonment until the insured policyholder reaches over 100 years of age which takes time for unclaimed assets to show up.
Obviously, the beneficiary should take it upon himself to contact the providing insurance company so these oversights don’t happen in the first place. But time is of the essence in such cases.
If you’re a beneficiary and you take steps to claim the death benefit after six to 12 months, there shouldn’t be any large issues. But don’t wait too much longer than that. Theoretically, there is no time limit during which a life insurance beneficiary must step forward to collect his/her money – but the job’s a lot easier the closer to time of death and where a valid death certificate can be produced.
If training your little one with Music for Little Mozarts is successful you will have created a little prodigy and it all began with what he/she heard while in the womb and shortly afterwards.
Music can definitely help calm your baby down and put him in a restful state at bedtime or nap time. What are some good choices for a baby?
Almost anything you love or use for relaxation is good for a baby too. There are good collections of Mozart or Bach for bedtime. The music of Enya can be very soothing as well. Georgia Kelly’s harp music is also relaxing and peaceful.
When your baby’s awake, there are lots of nursery rhymes or music from kids’ movies that can stimulate his senses. We’ve known kids who respond to minimalist Phillip Glass’s music; it’s simple and rhythmic and when they get older, they’ll dance with it. Spirituals and soft gospel music are also good choices to help the baby get to sleep.
White noise, in the form of a fan (not directed right at the baby), or from sound machines that simulate the sound of an ocean or rain can be restful as well, and can block out noise from the home. You don’t need to create an artificially silent environment for the baby, however, since that can make it harder for them to get to sleep when the home’s rhythms and noises get back to normal.
This is a great time for you to explore classical music as well, if it’s not already part of your life. The same music that’s helping your baby get to sleep can help soothe your own nerves and provide a wonderful time of bonding and restfulness for you and your baby together. And at Articles of Note you’ll find lots of resources for teaching your children and yourself about the intricacies of music.
I’m sure Ludwig van Beethoven would not approve, but the guitar, woodwinds and brass instruments has gone from the Baroque and Classical styles to a more common variety. And that includes a person’s choice of instruments.
I own a store specializing in selling discount musical instruments, and let me tell you, it is no easy job in this day and age. With music stores popping up in nearly every city of any size, and guaranteeing to match anyone else’s price, it is hard to get any share of the profit for cheap musical instruments unless you are willing to sell only used ones. Even selling used discount musical instruments is not as easy as it once was. Still, thanks to our advertising campaign, and the fact that there is a pretty creative community around here, we manage to do pretty well.
Honestly, we probably would not be in business at all, selling these discount musical instruments if not for the people who have been coming to us again and again for years. They not only come to buy new discount musical instruments, but they also get work done on the ones that they have at our shop. In addition, we get their castoffs, which we can then fix up and resell to lower level musicians. And thus, the cycle of discount musical instruments continues.
I know I do not get the chance to talk to most of the people buying their discount musical instruments from big chains or mail order places, but I really wish that I could grab them and shake them. It is not just that they put small, local discount musical instrument stores like ours out of business, but they also really do not do themselves any services in the long run. Sure, they can get that guitar for twenty bucks cheaper, but they sacrifice so much in doing it. They will not have a local music store that can offer them support, that can fix their discount musical instruments, or even customize them, and offer them good advice about what to get when they are looking for their next instrument. Sure, they can save a few bucks buying discount musical instruments from faceless national or multi-national corporations, but in the long run they tend to lose so much more than they gain.
Of course, the reason that I sell discount musical instruments is not because it is so lucrative, but on the contrary, because I love music and musicians. My job is great, because it allows me to spend my time doing what I love. And in the end, isn’t that the most important thing?
The lute and the mandolin were the forerunners of the modern guitar that we are familiar with today. The guitar became as prominent during the 16th century and composers wrote classical guitar music compositions from this period onwards. The technique needed for this music is hard to master, whether for solo pieces or as part of a concerto. True virtuosos therefore, are greatly valued.
The Romantic period of the 19th century saw the blossoming of the guitar and many more composers wrote specifically for the instrument, including Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840). The 20th century continued to produce great guitarists and composers and there was a lot of interest in jazz and pop fusions and Latin music. Previously, only guitar players had written classical guitar music but more orchestral composers began to take a serious interest in the instrument. These included Malcolm Arnold, Richard Rodney Bennett and Benjamin Britten.
Most experts consider Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia (1893-1987) to be the man responsible for making classical guitar a respectable instrument and one worthy of concert hall status. Such was his kudos in his home country; the King of Spain made him a Marquess in 1981. He transcribed compositions for the guitar by different composers, including Bach. He also helped in the design of a new style of guitar. Segovia wanted more volume as he often played in large, cavernous halls. The new instrument was shaped differently and used another kind of wood and nylon strings.
British born musician Julian Bream (1933-) has enjoyed a long career, playing classical guitar music and Elizabethan music for the lute. He has a varied repertoire and has played 17th century music, Spanish compositions and modern works. He is known for his interpretations of the works of Bach. Many composers have written specific pieces for him to play. John Williams (1941-) was born in Australia and has the distinction of having studied under the great Segovia in Italy when he was merely twelve years old. He has had many interesting collaborations and was a member of the fusion group, Sky. He has worked with Bream and Paco Pena and did a duet with Pete Townshend from the Who, playing their hit song, Won’t Get Fooled Again. Williams had a hit single across the world when he recorded Cavatina, used as the theme tune for the 1979 movie, The Deer Hunter. Whilst there are players and composers of this caliber, classical guitar music will continue to thrive.
Seems today with the rising costs of both food and fuel, the buzzwords are fuel economy and hypermiling terms . Although people have been worried about fuel mileage for years now, up until recently we assumed that our concerns were temporary. We would worry about gas mileage whenever there was a spike, of course, but as soon as the prices went down again, we would get back into our gas guzzling trucks and go for a spin. Intellectually, most of us have known for some time that the fossil fuels are running out. We have known that, sometime sooner or later, we would have to switch to some kind of alternative fuel. Nonetheless, this concern has always seemed remote and abstract most people. Recently, however, it has become a much more immediate concern.
My cousin is a perfect example. As a contractor, fuel mileage plays an important role in his everyday life. He has always loved driving big trucks, both because of his appreciation of their looks, and also because they are great for building contractors like him. Recently, however, he has become completely neurotic about fuel mileage. He actually bought a device that automatically logs business gas mileage. At first I thought this was neurotic, until he explained how much profit gas eats up. It is quite a bit more than you would expect, especially if you are frequently required to drive an hour or more to your job site.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make a good informed decision about alternative fuels. They have simply not been available for that long. Bio-diesel sounds good in theory, but in the end, won’t it pollute just as badly as gasoline? As for electric and hybrid cars, although there are a few working examples, they are still far from taking over the market. In the past, many of us imagined that electric vehicles would be ubiquitous by this day and age. Needless to say, that hasn’t happened.
Unless you’re switching fuels, there really are tricks and techniques one can utilize to optimize their driving economy. One of the best things to do is to switch to a more conservative driving style which may or may not involve hypermiling driving. Although this may look like a stopgap measure, in fact you can do a world of good. Just slowing down a few miles an hour during the morning rush can save you hundreds of dollars of gas a year. Defensive driving isn’t only safer, it is also better for the environment and for your pockets!
It’s no secret that distance education is flourishing - and for good reasons - one alluding to the high price of fuels.
Recently there has been a rising trend with regards to obtaining higher education online by way of the internet. Right now there are close to four million students enrolled in some type of online higher education course.
This is in large part due to the revision of a federal rule that mandated that institutions of higher education had to have students take a minimum of half of their classes in a traditional classroom setting. Since the revision, complete courses of studies now allow a student to attend all of their courses online. From a financial perspective, colleges and universities have increased their revenues that they would otherwise miss out on because of a potential student’s location or inability to attend a traditional classroom.
Much of the past growth in online enrollments has been promoted by new institutions entering the online learning arena. This transition is now nearing its end; most institutions that plan to offer online education are already doing so.
At one time, for some students, obtaining higher education was out of the question. Some reasons for this include children, other family obligations, financing, or having to work full time. Now that being able to receive higher education by means of the internet, people are finding that the flexibility of attendance has made achieving their dreams of a degree possible.
Whether you live in Bangladesh or Idaho, and want to obtain your degree in Phoenix, Arizona it is now possible without having to move to Phoenix. It can all be done online and you can view your course work at six in the morning or at midnight, the choice is yours. The flexibility of attendance is probably the biggest factor in the rise of obtaining higher education online.
Did you know nearly 3.5 million students were taking at least one online course during the fall 2006 term; a nearly 10 percent increase over the number reported the previous year?
What kinds of degrees are available online? A person can receive their high school diploma, specialty certificates, Associates Degrees, Bachelor’s Degrees and even Master’s degrees or Ph.D. level degrees.
One might wonder about what types of courses are offered online. The better question is what is not offered! Whether you want to be a legal assistant or paralegal, an accountant, a vet technician, a florist, you name it and you will likely find an online educational program that will suit your needs.
Probably the best thing about obtaining higher education learning online is that you normally do not have to take traditional college courses. Online learning courses are most often geared to the area of study that you are interested in. For example if you want to study to become a paralegal, you will not have to take mathematic courses or art courses that are totally unrelated to what a paralegal does.
Many employers are now readily accepting, and even encouraging, online education degrees. They are recognizing the online education is an asset of potential employees. Not only does an applicant with an online degree possess the skills required for a position, the potential for further education or skill advancement is far greater. Employers are also recognizing that potential job candidates possess other skills that are outside of the actual education. A candidate that is online educated usually has the ability to work independently with very little direction from an employer, among many other skills.
Higher education online has become more affordable as it becomes increasingly more and more popular. Most online education fees are all inclusive, meaning that you do not have to pay extra for books or other course materials.
Educational funding loans have also become easier to obtain. Online institutions are now recognized by FAFSA, as well as lending sources like Sallie Mae and local banks.
Rapid Net growth is creating many complexities in the field of visitor marketing. As the number of attached networks grows, the size of the routing tables each router must contain grows too. To keep routing table sizes manageable, some carriers, such as Sprint, have begun to refuse to carry certain traffic. Another problem is called “route flapping,” which degrades performance of existing tracking web statistics by forcing routers all over the Net to continuously recalculate optimum traffic paths, in response to local instabilities caused by the installation of new connections with slightly better paths.
Finally, there are emerging uncertainties about Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). At least two of the NAPs that attempted to use ATM were forced to retreat to a more stable technology called FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface, a 100-Mbps networking standard), while carriers that hoped to use ATM on their backbone networks have been forced to use Frame Relay.
ATM’s attractiveness has been based on its promise to carry all types of traffic (voice, video and data) at very high speeds with a guaranteed quality of service. While ATM’s traffic integration and service guarantees remain an advantage, new methods of carrying Internet traffic over the telephone companies’ installed SONET (Synchronous Optical Networks) networks are making it look a little less relevant.
For every one of these problems, however, solutions are in the works. Caching and mirroring schemes will help take a load off national and international backbones by allowing users to retrieve data closer to home. Policy-based routing schemes will let network service providers assign different levels of priority to different traffic streams. Route flapping will be addressed by dampening the effects of instabilities. New protocols will help make Web traffic less demanding of network resources.
“The right kinds of talent are being brought to bear on what is happening,” the Internet Society’s Heath said. “This is not rocket science; it’s a matter of engineering and adding capacity.”
Business models and intelligent collaboration
More pressing than the need to solve any particular set of technical problems, however, is the need for new business models and effective collaboration between network service providers.
“Most of the really critical problems aren’t technical. They are problems of coordination and administration,” said principal scientist at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. “The providers have to get together and figure out how to make everything work at a systemic level, rather than focusing so strongly on their own environment. Once that happens, the technical answers will be found.”
The obstacles, he said, are exponential growth and the lack of service metrics and clear leadership to coordinate operations, problems the telephone industry has managed to figure out. “The phone companies all compete like hell. But in a different dimension they collaborate, and they have contingency plans to use each other’s bandwidth when there are problems,” he said. “The phone companies have the International Telecommunications Union [to work out day-to-day operational issues], but the Internet Engineering Task Force (the protocol engineering and development arm of the Internet) cannot and will not work on operations.”
