The Evolution Of Beads And Bead Work

Posted May.17, 2012 under General Off Topic by Nazmus

Over the years, people have chosen to decorate their bodies for various spiritual and cultural beliefs. The first decorations were used during special rituals, later on the decorations became a permanent fixture on ancient society. People would use special decorations to set themselves apart from others in their tribe. Men and women that had a special social status would be seen adorning more decorations than commoners.

For the last two centuries, people have progressively started wearing different decorations as a means to magnify their beauty. Accessories, as we call them today were used by our ancestors thousands of years ago, and are now being used by us with the same respects.

People that choose to decorate themselves will normally use decorations on their bodies, faces, and their extremities. In modern day times, people put accessories in areas that they want others to look. For example, people choose to wear necklaces, bracelets and rings, simply because they know that others will acknowledge them.

Beads are quickly becoming the material of choice to use these days. Ancient Egypt was one of the first groups of people that started incorporating beads into their society. Beads would be used to make pottery, accessories, and clothing. People that were seen adorning beads were normally looked at as wealthy individuals.

Beads began being used by common everyday people back in the second half of the eighteen century, leading into the nineteenth century. During this time, the industrial revolution was in swing, and factories started producing a mass amount of glass and other faux gem stones.

These items were extremely popular amongst middle class people all the way down to the lower working class individuals. Even though the beads were not made from high quality materials, their faux appearance made those who used them feel like royalty.

Today, there are thousands of different beads that you can choose to make your beaded projects from. Beads and decorations have been used by people for thousands of years as a means of verifying their status. In a way, mankind still uses beads with the same purpose in mind.

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Choosing the Best Briefcases

Posted Feb.09, 2012 under Stocksicity by Nazmus

No matter the rank or role, it is vital that all business professionals invest in well-designed, high quality, leather briefcases. With the sheer volume of briefcases available on the market, however, selecting the best one can seem a daunting task. Knowing some features to look for and factors to consider can help you find the one that best suits your needs and your personal style.

You can find briefcases in a variety of sizes, from small, messenger-style cases to extra-large briefcases with wheels on the bottom and everything in between. For most people, the standard size is sufficient, but consider how you will use your case, where you will take it and what you need to transport on a regular basis to determine the best size for you.

Briefcases are made from a variety of materials, so you can choose something that fits your discrimination and complements your lifestyle. Many business professionals love the rich look and supple feel of real leather. On the other hand, some are opposed to using animal hide or simply prefer something besides leather. For them, cases made from nylon, aluminum or other animal-friendly materials might be a better option.

Be sure to think about the type of closure you require as well. Briefcases may have zippers, buckles, latches and even locks. If you frequently tote legal briefs, client files or other sensitive documents, choose a case that features built-in combination locks is prudent. Even if the paperwork you carry is not terribly confidential, a brief case that does not have secure closures of some sort can cause you to lose work that may be difficult –if not impossible—to replace.

Look at the interior arrangement and any external pockets or compartments provided. Little extras, such as a special section for your laptop, a compartment for your cell phone or even a fob to hold your keys might not seem like a big deal at first blush. However, when you are rushing to a meeting and you need to bring your laptop for the presentation along with the handouts for your clients, you will be grateful that everything fits neatly in your brief case.

Of course, price is an important aspect. When it comes to costs, briefcases run the gamut. If you have a little wiggle room in your expense account, go for a high-grade, hard-sided case with all of the extras you might need. Alternatively, if your budget is a bit tight, think about the features that matter most to you and then buy the nicest case that best meets those within your price range.

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Dow Jones Finally over the 12,000 Mark

Posted Oct.28, 2011 under Stock Market by Nazmus

The Stock Market Rallies and we go over 12k

First off, I apologize for disappearing for a few weeks. I have been extremely busy and haven’t had much time to follow the stock market, let alone write an article about it. But now that I am back and I am happy to announce that yesterday, the Dow Jones finally went over the 12,000 mark like I had originally predicted several months ago. The picture above is what was shown yesterday. The Dow Jones is thankfully doing a lot better today. Although it didn’t rally today, it added onto the huge 3% rally from yesterday.

The Dow Jones currently sits at 12,231. It’s up almost 600 points since I last reported on October 14th. This is great news because it is a sign that the economy is doing better. We haven’t seen the 12,000 figure for months. The last time it was doing well, we were heading towards the 13,000 mark and currently that’s our goal. Our current objective is to stay over the 12,000 mark as we head to 13k.

The NASDAQ is also doing better than when I last reported. Although it dropped just under 1.5 points, it is still doing great. Currently the NASDAQ is at 2,737.  The S&P is also up, currently at 1,285, heading towards the 1,300 mark itself. And finally, the NYSE is at 7,803, almost a 500 point increase from October 14th.

The past two weeks have been great for the stock market. I do regret missing out on most of it but what can you do, life happens.

Before my small break, I was keeping an eye on Netflix. Two days ago, Netflix (NFLX) stocks dropped over 35% after they reported losing over 800,000 subscribers due to their company changes. That’s a huge drop. It hit a new low that day of $74.25 per share. Over the past two days, it has been recovering, but very slowly. Currently Netflix stocks cost $84.14 a share. It’s very surprising to see what was once a $300 stock to lose this much in this little time. Netflix has no one else to blame but itself for this.

So what’s happened to gold over the past 2 weeks?

It seems that Gold has been prospering too. I thought the price of gold would keep going down as the economy improved and the stock market went up, but it seems that gold has been riding along. Gold now costs $1,743 an ounce, compared to $1,680. It’s not a huge increase but an increase nonetheless.

Quite a bit has happened in my absence, I have tried to follow as much as I could but my schedule made it difficult. I am sorry for not bringing you more updates sooner. I will try to bring you as many updates as possible in the near future. Today is the end of the week and next week, the market will open into Halloween. Lets hope the issues in Europe continue to get better and the stock market’s momentum from this week moves over to the next. We could definitely use a big break as we head towards the Holidays.

So how was your two weeks? Are you happy with how the stock market has turned out in its rallies? Where do you think we will go from here?

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Week Ends in a Rally

Posted Oct.14, 2011 under Stock Market by Nazmus
Stock Market Rallies for Second Week in a Row

by Idea go

I apologize for the lack of updates the past few days, my scheduling had me beat and I was unable to post updates. But now, I bring you good news at the end of this Market Week. The Stock Market rallied for the second week in a row and it is great news for us.

The Dow Jones today gained 166 points, adding onto yesterday’s rally. Although it dropped a little on Wednesday, it was not enough to stop the market from ending the week in the positive. The Dow currently sits at 11,644. We haven’t seen this number in a while because in the past, it seems that whenever we get close to a number this nigh, something happens in Europe and we all end up paying for it.

The NASDAQ Composite gained more than 47 points, or 1.8%. It currently sits at 2,667. The S&P 500 gained almost 21 points, or 1.7% and currently sits at 1,224. And the NYSE gained over a 121 points, and it sits in at 7,350 at the end of this market week.

This week has definitely given us a great push towards the 12,000 mark. Hopefully the momentum from this week doesn’t stop here and carries over to the next few weeks. It will give investors a great deal of confidence if the Dow can go back over the 12,000 mark, something we haven’t seen in months.

Gold has also been holding steady over the past few weeks between the $1,600 and $1,700 marks. Currently gold costs $1,680 an ounce. Surprisingly, the price of gold has gone up recently along with the stock market. Generally, they tend to have an opposite effect on each other. As the stock markets rally, gold usually drops, and vice versa. But this week was a bit peculiar with the price of gold and the stock market rally.

As predicted earlier, Apple (AAPL) has bounced back pretty well and has set new records over the past few days. Currently, apple costs $422 a share after gaining $13.57 a share, or 3.32%. Steve Jobs has left behind a great and very strong company and even though many investors and consumers felt as if Apple wouldn’t do as well without Jobs, many others knew that Apple was too big to be brought down. Apple will continue to thrive and I believe we will see this stock set bigger and better records for itself.

I am glad to be able to bring you some good news at the end of this market week. Hopefully things continue to go up in the coming weeks. What are your thoughts about what happened in the past week?

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Stocks Rally For Columbus Day

Posted Oct.10, 2011 under Stock Market by Nazmus
Stocks Rally on Columbus Day

by Danilo Rizzuti

Today turned out to be a great start of the week. The stock market rallied like there was no tomorrow. Most stocks saw decent gains, although some did see drops due to bad news. The rally came after France and Germany pledged to come up with a plan to help the banks of the region. Only the pledge has been made so far, I can’t wait to see what they have planned to help Europe get out of the economic depression. I also hope that they do something soon.

The Dow Jones gained almost 3%, or 330 points today. The Dow finished off at over 11,433. We are back where we were about two or three weeks ago. It’s almost as if we didn’t really go anywhere. But at least we are not where we were last week, about 400 points below the 11,000 mark.

The NASDAQ Composite gained 3.5% or 86 points. Finishing off at 2,566. The S&P 500 gained 39 points, or 3.4% finishing off at 1,194. And the NYSE gained over 247 points or 3.58%. The NYSE Finished off at 7,173, finally over the 7,100 mark once again.

Apple (AAPL) is one of the stocks to have seen a decent gain today. Apple stocks rose more than 5.1% today, or just over $19 a share. Apple is slowly bouncing back after the slight drop it saw after the passing of its co-founder, Steve Jobs last Wednesday.

But not all stocks saw gains. Sprint (S) is still in trouble. It reached a new 52 week low today at $2.10 per share. It dropped almost another 8% today after dropping several percentage points at the end of the last market week. Hopefully Sprint bounces back and it most likely will. Sprint stocks are very cheap now and investors could use this opportunity to buy low.

Netflix (NFLX) is another stock that is still suffering. Even after they announced scraping the plans for Qwikster, which was supposed to separate the DVD rental and Online streaming services from Netflix. Netflix Stocks dropped another 4.77%, or $5.59 a share. Currently, Netflix costs just $111.62, almost $200 a share below it’s 52-week high just a few months go.

And the last stock mention of the day is Eastman Kodak (EK). Kodak has had issues recently and at one point, their stocks were worth almost $0.50 each. Now they are holding steady at around $1.40. I still think that Kodak will pull out and become one of the great stocks that it used to be. Investors who are putting their money into the company now will probably benefit the most.

Today was a great day for the stock market. Lets hope that the momentum continues to tomorrow. This momentum push could help us get to the aimed 12,000 mark with the Dow very soon. I know the market is very volatile now and investors could start selling tomorrow to cash in on today’s rally, hopefully that doesn’t happen and investors keep investing. I also hope that more good news keep coming out of the global economy.

I hope you enjoyed Columbus Day. And if you are in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving To You!

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