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Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7

Shoe Repairs And Several Other Things When I Was 7
My Dad repaired most of our shoes believe it or not, I can hardly believe it myself now. With 7 pairs of shoes always needing repairs I think he was quite clever to learn how to “Keep us in shoe Leather” to coin a phrase!

He bought several different sizes of cast iron cobbler’s “lasts”. Last, the old English “Laest” meaning footprint. Lasts were holding devices shaped like a human foot. I have no idea where he would have bought the shoe leather. Only that it was a beautiful creamy, shiny colour and the smell was lovely.

But I do remember our shoes turned upside down on and fitted into these lasts, my Dad cutting the leather around the shape of the shoe, and then hammering nails, into the leather shape. Sometimes we’d feel one or 2 of those nails poking through the insides of our shoes, but our dad always fixed it.

Hiking and Swimming Galas
Dad was a very outdoorsy type, unlike my mother, who was probably too busy indoors. She also enjoyed the peace and quiet when he took us off for the day!

Anyway, he often took us hiking in the mountains where we’d have a picnic of sandwiches and flasks of tea. And more often than not we went by steam train.

We loved poking our heads out of the window until our eyes hurt like mad from a blast of soot blowing back from the engine. But sore, bloodshot eyes never dampened our enthusiasm.

Dad was an avid swimmer and water polo player, and he used to take us to swimming galas, as they were called back then. He often took part in these galas. And again we always travelled by steam train.

Rowing Over To Ireland’s Eye
That’s what we did back then, we had to go by rowboat, the only way to get to Ireland’s eye, which is 15 minutes from mainland Howth. From there we could see Malahide, Lambay Island and Howth Head of course. These days you can take a Round Trip Cruise on a small cruise ship!

But we thoroughly enjoyed rowing and once there we couldn’t wait to climb the rocks, and have a swim. We picnicked and watched the friendly seals doing their thing and showing off.

Not to mention all kinds of birdlife including the Puffin.The Martello Tower was also interesting but a bit dangerous to attempt entering. I’m getting lost in the past as I write, and have to drag myself back to the present.

Fun Outings with The camera Club
Dad was also a very keen amateur photographer, and was a member of a camera Club. There were many Sunday photography outings and along with us came other kids of the members of the club.

And we always had great fun while the adults busied themselves taking photos of everything and anything, it seemed to us. Dad was so serious about his photography that he set up a dark room where he developed and printed his photographs.

All black and white at the time. He and his camera club entered many of their favourites in exhibitions throughout Europe. I’m quite proud to say that many cups and medals were won by Dad. They have been shared amongst all his grandchildren which I find quite special.

He liked taking portraits of us kids too, mostly when we were in a state of untidiness, usually during play. Dad always preferred the natural look of messy hair and clothes in the photos of his children.

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HR Departments Should Use Online Business English Courses for Corporate Training

Why do I say that corporate Human Resource Departments should use online Business English courses for corporate training? An Online Business English teaching website using Skype or a virtual classroom can be useful for developing their employees and increasing their competitiveness. There are also some other very good reasons.One reason is that there is a trend towards using more online learning courses in the corporate world. There must be some good reasons for corporations to be doing this. These online courses can be more flexible in timing, number of attendees, etc. They can be more effective due to having one to one training or smaller groups (not as costly so no need to have large classes to reduce the cost per person). Thus, an online course will take less money out of the HR training budget, or it will allow more people to be trained with the same amount of money.Why online courses?They can be cost effective. There will be no needed airfare costs to bring in a trainer, or to send the students to the location, and also there will be no lodging and food costs. A classroom may not be needed for the students to access the internet. With a virtual classroom it is just like a classroom: there is a whiteboard that can be used by both the students and teacher, the teacher can show videos, the class can review word documents, excel files, and PowerPoint presentations. Many of the virtual classrooms can have students online at one time from five different locations, so there may be no need to have a physical classroom for the students to take the online course. As well, because of the lower cost, the course can be given to fewer students and still be cost effective. The money saved by using online courses can be used to give more courses to the employees.If the HR departments and corporations are doing online training courses then why not online Business English courses? As shown above, online courses can have significant cost savings for companies. These can be used to upgrade and improve the English of the non-native English speakers in your corporation that have to deal in English in the business world. The courses can be customized to suit the needs of the company and the students. With fewer students needed to make the courses cost effective they can be even more customized for the students.Why online Business English courses?They can improve international communications for sales and business people. Employees, especially sales people, will be better able to give presentations. Employee will be more comfortable in business situations. There will be fewer communication problems with clients and suppliers. These courses can be targeted to an individual’s problem areas.What courses can be taken?There are many business English courses that you can take. For example Business English Courses: English Job interviews, Business Correspondence, Presentations in English, Writing, Resume Writing, and Business English, Negotiation, Meetings, Telephoning, Socializing, and other similar courses. There are many online English and Business English courses, some which use Skype and others that use a virtual classroom providing lessons. A virtual classroom will have an on screen whiteboard on which both the student and teacher can write and draw, be able to show Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, and be able to show YouTube videos during the class.What are the benefits to the company?The benefits to the company are many. Foreign companies can improve the English of local hires since most communication will probably be in English. Local companies can improve communications with foreign clients and suppliers. Your employees will be happier because they will be more comfortable talking with clients or suppliers in English. The clients and suppliers will be happier because there will be fewer problems caused by miscommunication. Online courses can be run with fewer students, so there will be a cost savings because the neither trainer nor the students need to be brought together.For headhunters and human resource recruiting companies their candidate will be more appealing to the client, and will be more marketable. They should do better in job interviews with the client and be more likely to be hired by a foreign or international company searching for local employees.In summary there are many benefits and savings from online Business English courses. Your employees will be more comfortable speaking English, there will be fewer communication problems, your sales presentations will go smoothly, and you will have lower training costs per employee. HR departments should use online Business English courses for all or part of their training needs if they are doing business internationally.

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SPDN: An Inexpensive Way To Profit When The S&P 500 Falls

Summary
SPDN is not the largest or oldest way to short the S&P 500, but it’s a solid choice.
This ETF uses a variety of financial instruments to target a return opposite that of the S&P 500 Index.
SPDN’s 0.49% Expense Ratio is nearly half that of the larger, longer-tenured -1x Inverse S&P 500 ETF.
Details aside, the potential continuation of the equity bear market makes single-inverse ETFs an investment segment investor should be familiar with.
We rate SPDN a Strong Buy because we believe the risks of a continued bear market greatly outweigh the possibility of a quick return to a bull market.
Put a gear stick into R position, (Reverse).
Birdlkportfolio

By Rob Isbitts

Summary
The S&P 500 is in a bear market, and we don’t see a quick-fix. Many investors assume the only way to navigate a potentially long-term bear market is to hide in cash, day-trade or “just hang in there” while the bear takes their retirement nest egg.

The Direxion Daily S&P 500® Bear 1X ETF (NYSEARCA:SPDN) is one of a class of single-inverse ETFs that allow investors to profit from down moves in the stock market.

SPDN is an unleveraged, liquid, low-cost way to either try to hedge an equity portfolio, profit from a decline in the S&P 500, or both. We rate it a Strong Buy, given our concern about the intermediate-term outlook for the global equity market.

Strategy
SPDN keeps it simple. If the S&P 500 goes up by X%, it should go down by X%. The opposite is also expected.

Proprietary ETF Grades
Offense/Defense: Defense

Segment: Inverse Equity

Sub-Segment: Inverse S&P 500

Correlation (vs. S&P 500): Very High (inverse)

Expected Volatility (vs. S&P 500): Similar (but opposite)

Holding Analysis
SPDN does not rely on shorting individual stocks in the S&P 500. Instead, the managers typically use a combination of futures, swaps and other derivative instruments to create a portfolio that consistently aims to deliver the opposite of what the S&P 500 does.

Strengths
SPDN is a fairly “no-frills” way to do what many investors probably wished they could do during the first 9 months of 2022 and in past bear markets: find something that goes up when the “market” goes down. After all, bonds are not the answer they used to be, commodities like gold have, shall we say, lost their luster. And moving to cash creates the issue of making two correct timing decisions, when to get in and when to get out. SPDN and its single-inverse ETF brethren offer a liquid tool to use in a variety of ways, depending on what a particular investor wants to achieve.

Weaknesses
The weakness of any inverse ETF is that it does the opposite of what the market does, when the market goes up. So, even in bear markets when the broader market trend is down, sharp bear market rallies (or any rallies for that matter) in the S&P 500 will cause SPDN to drop as much as the market goes up.

Opportunities
While inverse ETFs have a reputation in some circles as nothing more than day-trading vehicles, our own experience with them is, pardon the pun, exactly the opposite! We encourage investors to try to better-understand single inverse ETFs like SPDN. While traders tend to gravitate to leveraged inverse ETFs (which actually are day-trading tools), we believe that in an extended bear market, SPDN and its ilk could be a game-saver for many portfolios.

Threats
SPDN and most other single inverse ETFs are vulnerable to a sustained rise in the price of the index it aims to deliver the inverse of. But that threat of loss in a rising market means that when an investor considers SPDN, they should also have a game plan for how and when they will deploy this unique portfolio weapon.

Proprietary Technical Ratings
Short-Term Rating (next 3 months): Strong Buy

Long-Term Rating (next 12 months): Buy

Conclusions
ETF Quality Opinion
SPDN does what it aims to do, and has done so for over 6 years now. For a while, it was largely-ignored, given the existence of a similar ETF that has been around much longer. But the more tenured SPDN has become, the more attractive it looks as an alternative.

ETF Investment Opinion

SPDN is rated Strong Buy because the S&P 500 continues to look as vulnerable to further decline. And, while the market bottomed in mid-June, rallied, then waffled since that time, our proprietary macro market indicators all point to much greater risk of a major decline from this level than a fast return to bull market glory. Thus, SPDN is at best a way to exploit and attack the bear, and at worst a hedge on an otherwise equity-laden portfolio.