Thrills Drills and Barbecue Drills

Big business is being taken for a very expensive ride. By whom? By each other. Confidence games are being perpetrated by Global corporations upon the only victims that can afford huge losses -- other Global corporations.

How do the crooks get away with this? I submit that it's becoming harder for them to do -- except with each other! Somehow the giant corporations don't get that other giant corporations are scamming them out of huge amounts of cash for dubious deliverables.

CRM (customer relationship management) software costs upwards of $325,000 with additional integration costs of up to $100,000 and according to a recent Interactive Week Magazine article,

http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2777006,00.html

that expensive software is so effective that it triggered a direct mail promotion from American Express to a heterosexual man, but that promotion was targeted at gay men, lesbians and domestic partners. His wife was as confused as he at the obvious blunder! That interesting vignette comes from the same article.

Let's see now, I'm going to pay about a half million dollars so that my company can offend and confuse my customers. Not a bad investment! What this means to the consumer is that they may receive appropriate advertising and promotional material if the software can draw logical conclusions based on past purchases, inquiries and page visits. A laudable goal if it worked perfectly but it clearly does not!

What it means in reality is that users of datamining software can send innapropriate promotions to people that may be confused, may be offended and certainly annoyed by their material even when it was requested, as it was in this case. You've taken a potential sale and turned it into a blunder. What does that do for lifetime customer value? How about return on investment figures with that?

I have a hosted application that can provide you incorrect and mixed-up customer data mining which cost only $60,000 yearly to host for you! I'd sure like to see the ROI (Return on investment) generated by that chunk of change! I also have a bridge for sale.

Is it any wonder that corporations are going bust? They're falling for scams that rip them off on a huge scale perpetrated by con artists offering data mining, knowledge management, CRM solutions.

I'd like to offer up a scenario that might illustrate awful data mining results. I also like to suggest that this is probably illustrative of why this expensive software might work but is inherently flawed in the conclusions it draws.

I visit an online book seller to buy a cookbook for my nephew, who is considering attending a culinary college. The confirmation page is prompted by the datamining software to display an advertisement for a recipe site when the purchase is completed, I'm not interested in that so I jump to my favorites and click on Yahoo, where I notice a banner ad for power tools and recall that I need a new reversible drill to help repair my patio deck.

I click on that banner ad to visit a hardware site and review the information on their available drills, then I realize I won't have time for it to be delivered by tomorrow, which is the weekend and I want to complete those deck repairs before Monday. I'll run down to the hardware store for the drill purchase. But I fill out the contest entry for the giant tool giveaway before I leave their web site.

I return to my online book seller the following week to look up a book my wife is interested in about flower gardening and buy it for her. Based on my previous purchase of the cookbook and combined with this purchase the CRM software figures I enjoy cooking and gardening and serves up an ad on the confirmation page for a Martha Stewart video on vegetable gardening. I'm not interested in that and jump over to Yahoo to look up the latest sports scores and I'm served an advertisement for barbecue grills.

Perfect, I'll order that now and it will arrive by the time we're ready to enjoy the newly repaired deck for the 4th of July. I click on the ad banner and complete the barbecue purchase. I'm looking for a way to make the weekend perfect, so to I decide to order flowers delivered to my wife.

When I complete that purchase, I'm served an advertising banner for a newly released relationship book. I click on that banner and end up back at the bookseller site. Their software sees a return customer that is interested in cooking, flower gardening and love. At the same time Yahoo sees a customer interested in sports thrills, reversible drills and barbecue grills.

Now both of those parties, the book seller and Yahoo, have a different picture of my surfing and buying habits.

The book seller is incorrect because I haven't bought a single book that interests me. Yahoo has me pegged, but guess what? The only value they have gained is increased ad revenue, which only benefits companies that generate huge traffic and create unwavering visitor loyalty. What if I switch my home page to iWon from Yahoo?

The return on investment is negligible unless the site enjoys record-setting traffic levels and commands complete customer loyalty. Who's buying this software? It's bought by global corporations. Who's selling? Really smart cookies.

Mike Banks Valentine
WebSite101 "Reading List" Weekly Netrepreneur Tip Sheet Weekly Ezine emphasizing small business on the Internet http://website101.com/arch/
e-tutorial online at: http://website101.com/shortcourse.html By week's end you're ready expand your business to the web!

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 ga Catsup 3 Cloves garlic -- crushed
1 sm Bottle Worcestershire sauce Tabasco and/or mustard -- to
1/2 c Sugar Taste
2/3 c Vinegar

Mix and simmer. Add a dash of Tabasco and/or mustard for hotness till it
tastes right. "Don't put it on the meat while cooking 'cause you will cause
the sugar to caramelize and char. This used to be a secret but since I'm
retired it makes no-never-mind. I makes more money now after I retired. If
I knew I could make this much money as a retiree, I would have quit working
when I was 20." (By "retired" Euel means he now runs a private catering
company and cooks only for those who wisely seek out his skills.)

Grab more free recipes at http://recipe-directory.net

 

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

The barbecue began in the American context during the late 1800's cattle drives in the West. The cowhands usually had low quality cuts of beef that had to be preserved over long periods of time of cattle driving.

The main choice for this was brisket that is tough meat. The cowboys soon learned that if they cooked the meat over a long period of time at a low temperature the meat could be made tender and tasty. During this time, the cooks also experimented with various barbecue sauces to make the beef even tastier.

Personally barbecue is my favorite style of cooking meat. I love the taste of barbecue and find that it's suitable for nearly all occasions.

I agree with history that the barbecue sauce is as important as the barbecue itself. A good barbecue sauce can make or break a sumptuous meal.

I can still remember clearly the T-bone barbecue steak I tasted at Larry's Drive. The sauce that was served with the barbecue steak was simply awesome. Every time I recall the experience my mouth just waters.

I have often asked myself how-to recreate that awesome sauce. Until I came across Debbie Beaston's barbecue sauce recipe on the Internet that could be the answer to my wish. It's called the "Top Secret BBQ Sauce Recipe".

I haven't bought the "Top Secret BBQ Sauce Recipe" yet, but thinking of convincing my wife to buy it because she loves cooking.

The BBQ sauce recipe ebook also includes BBQ recipes, rubs, mops and marinades. There is also great advice and ideas about what to cook with your barbecue.

More information on the sauce recipe is available here: http://health-fitness.marc8.com/ebook-info.php/name/1_top_secret_bbq_sauce_recipe/toc_id/6-0-3-6

Sanjib Ahmad - Freelance Writer and Product Consultant for Health-Fitness.Marc8.com ( http://health-fitness.marc8.com/). You are free to use this article in its entirety as long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content, and include the resource box listed above.

Cookware what you need and what you dont !mark Brading
Cookware is always a rather contentious subject. I have seen chefs turn up to even the simplest of cooking jobs carrying more than it would take to maintain your average oil tanker (though maybe this is not the best use for your cookware), when all that was really needed was a knife and something to sharpen it with.
So what are the real cookware essentials, the things that you really cant do without? Well surprisingly you actually need only a very small amount of things to get you going. Probably considerably less than you have already.
All the cookware you actually need is a good knife, a means of sharpening it, a chopping board and a couple of pans.You may prefer a bit more cookware but you can cook with just that.
Dont get me wrong, Im as partial to a kitchen full of mixers, blenders, electrical appliances and assorted useful, and otherwise, gadgets as the next person.
But although good quality cheap cookware ( yes it is possible )like grinders and blenders give you a lot more scope there are plenty of things that you can cook without them, but a good knife, or three, is absolutely essential.
The first and most essential piece of cookware you need is a cooks knife, thats as large as you feel comfortable with, an 8 inch knife with a blade that curves slightly to allow a rocking motion is a good start, then a smaller knife, about 4 inches, for cutting small vegetables and a carving knife.
If you buy one about 10 inches long it can also double as a bread knife. Although there is no point buying extra knifes just to line the pockets of the large kitchen eequipment manufacturers. A set can actually be quite good value and give you more for a similar amount of money. But check carefully what is in the set first.
If you cannot find a set with what you think will be useful to you, dont buy it. Many sets come with extras like a case or wooden knife block but try to see past the free gifts. Its much better to have a few good knives in your drawer than a fancy polished beech wood block with fifteen designer knives, fourteen of which you never use, and one that is not the right shape for your hand and gives you blisters.
I have a small, not very expensive set of French Sabatiers that are comfortable but not as posh looking as some of the more fashionable makes like the Japanese globals which I find too light which makes chopping a lot of veg for example much harder work.
If you learn how to use them properly then steel or grinding stone is a good way to keep your knives sharp otherwise there are a good choice of proprietary sharpeners that keep the knife at the right angle while you pull it through the sharpener. Pans also need to be good quality, nothing over the top, no need to spend a fortune. Just make sure they are of a good solid construction.
This promotes good even heat distribution and helps to prevent things burning. Stainless steel is a good option. A good wok on the other hand should be made of a thin light steel and cost very little, but always check that it has a good well-fixed wooden handle. The best place to buy this most useful of pans is (perhaps unsurprisingly) usually the local Chinese supermarket. A good chopping board is another necessity though two are better than one as this helps to prevent cross contamination if you designate one for uncooked meats/fish etc.and another for things like fruit and salads.
No matter how much you think you will always be careful and wash them between uses this is the best single way to prevent contamination between foods. Mixers can be useful if you intend doing a lot of baking. But unless you make bread on a regular basis (always a good idea), then buying a simple, good quality hand held mixer rather than a heavy stand alone version could save you a couple of hundred dollars in as well as a lot of space on your worktop.
A blender is always useful for soups and the occasional smoothie, and a grinder will give you a lot more options in your use of nuts etc.and will also provide a constant supply of fresh coffee for the more manic cook. A good way to combine the functions of all three is to buy a food processor.
A good quality machine such as a Moulinex or Robot coupe will save space and allow you to buy a much better processor than if you bought there items separately. There is an almost unending list of kitchen equipment that you could buy (if in doubt walk into your local cookery shop and ask the owner what he thinks you need!), but make sure you get the essential good quality cookware right and it will make your cooking easier and more enjoyable.

"http://nearlyhealthy.com" is a new quality easy recipe, cookery tips and information site, for great tasting food that is also easy to cook. Cooking should be a joy not a chore. Using the best ingredients and keeping it simple means your food tastes good with the minimum of fuss. . Cookery book reviews, we choose the best in current and classic recipe books and food travel writers. Also product and good food suppliers.
Need to know the best food processor we take the time to choose so you don't have to. Need to know where to find the best organic pork? We bring you the best suppliers and information.
We have started small but will add more and more content over the coming weeks so do keep checking back. We look forward to seeing you and listening to your comments and feedback.
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