When golf legend Jack Nicklaus was still a young upstart in the sport and only starting to tear up PGA courses, legend Bobby Jones commented following ‘The Golden Bear’s’ 65 Masters win that “he plays a game with which I am not familiar”. Following his absolute destruction of Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 98, there’s likely a few MMA fighters saying the same thing about the new light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Machida completely befuddled Evans en route to a 2nd round TKO victory after which ‘The Dragon’ looked as if hed barely worked up a sweat.

The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didn’t come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.

After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. He’s essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to life–in a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package. Like Mayweather, hes a tough opponent to prepare for as there’s simply no way to replicate his skill set in sparring. In another similarity with boxing’s recent pound for pound king, Machida has been bred to fight since birth. His father is a first generation Japanese –Brazilian and a Shotokan Karate legend, Yoshizo Machida. He began training in his fathers discipline at the age of 3 and by the time he was 12 years old had earned a black belt.

The comparisons with the insanely talented but equally insanely arrogant Mayweather end when the final bell sounds. Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams. In the past, his limited English was seen as a potential marketing liability here in the US but on this occasion he demonstrated vastly improved fluency in the language as a Portuguese translator stood by with his hands in his pockets. Almost overnight hes simply become a marketers dream.

An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar: Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo and made his MMA debut on a NJPW card in 2003, defeating Pancrase veteran Kengo Watanabe.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. Early in his UFC career he had a reputation as a boring fighter, but in his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights. He stopped Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79 with an arm triangle choke, and blitzed Evans and previous foe Thiago Alves with punishing punching combinations en route to TKO victories. The so called boring fighter has in the process earned two UFC knockout of the night bonuses by virtue of his evolving power punching skills.

Machida will very likely face Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson at some point in the future and, with all due respect to the PRIDE/UFC veteran, its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in ‘Rampage’s’ favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles.

In the co-main event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three. The two men embraced after the fight so, for now at least, their well known dislike for one another that began during their stint as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter may have ebbed.

Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Whether you work from home or have your own office elsewhere there is certain stationery items that no office can afford to be without. Think about the stationery items you use most often and keep a running list of these things, this makes it much easier to know just what you need when it comes to restocking your stationery.

You should leave some room in your stationery budget for things like premium paper and clear plastic pockets that you buy less often.

No office should be without several different types of paper, some for rough work, some for sketches and some for letters, quotations/estimates and contracts. If you like to print out your photographs then you should add photo or heavy weight paper to your list. Every office needs an assortment of pens and pencils as well as rubbers and a large, office pencil sharpener.

You should have a stock of elastic bands and paper clips as well as a hole puncher, go for one of the stronger ones, it might seem like an expensive outlay but it will last and it will do the job better than a lightweight one. It is also a good idea to have a selection of manila folders among your stationery as it makes it easier when it comes to filing things away.

Running a business can be difficult. Sometimes it is necessary to call upon a debt collection agency for assistance collecting money that is owed. However, if businesses take a plan of prevention, they may not need to use the help of a third party collections agency. Knowing the client or customer can be extremely useful for filtering out potential problems.

First, a business should find out the full legal name of the company that it plans to do business with. The business structure should be known. Is it a corporation or a partnership? The names, addresses and titles of the principal members should be collected.

It is important to know the federal employer tax identification number. The telephone number, ship to address, name, fax number and email address of the main contact should be known as well. Additionally, the bill to address, fax number and telephone number of the accounts payable contact is a good piece of information to know. Individuals authorized to submit orders should be listed.

Ask about bank references. Find out what the bank’s name is. The branch address, fax and telephone numbers, account types, account numbers and dates opened can be useful information. The name of the bank representative should be also be collected.

Finally, the terms and conditions of sale should be acknowledged and accepted by the client’s signature. The customer’s signature, printed name, date of signing and title should be collected, and always have the company’s lawyer look over any documents before use.

Be aware of the customer’s credit history and keep decent communication through phone calls or personal visits. Keep an up to date delivery of goods and services, and up to date records and accounts receivable information. Mail out memos and letters to remind the client about the money owed and keep them up to date.

Join an industry credit group and participate actively. It is crucial to know the laws in the state that the company is in regarding collections and business proposals. To protect the company, it is crucial to collect references. Bank references, including the bank name, branch, account type, account number and trade references are important to know. Collect three trade references at least that include the name, address, telephone number and email addresses.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. Also she writes articlesabout business, finance, consumer spending and debt collection.

You are creating something that people will keep for years to come. You are capturing a very special moment in people’s lives. Guaranteeing quality and highly skilled photography is something every bride and groom wants. You can make a lot of money if you decide to be a wedding photographer. As well as the money though there is the risk that you must manage well.

If this is going to be your first wedding shoot you will want to make sure your contract is written up properly and a disclaimer included in it. A disclaimer is something that can prevent you from being sued later on. For example, you should include that you are not responsible for pictures that might get lost after you send the film away to get developed, or pictures that do not come out clear due to equipment failure. You do not want to be sued for breaching your contract.

Now with that said you should also include how many pictures are to be taken and how long you will be photographing for and what hourly rate will be. Include how much the cost of development is and the cost of the album. Make sure you discuss with your clients what their requirements are. They might want a certain person or family they would like pictures of since they don’t get to see them often, so that should be discussed as well if it is an issue.

Your clients will probably request certain photographs so make sure you make a list. Here are a few common ones, pre-ceremony, wedding ceremony, post-ceremony and reception. Who will be in certain photographs should be discussed with the client as well. Not every client will be the same so pay attention to what they are saying.

When you schedule your clients in make sure they pay you a deposit. At least 50% deposit should be paid prior to the wedding. So you don’t end up bothering the bride and groom during the reception, arrangements should be made for when the remainder will be paid. They would think you were unprofessional and wish they had hired someone else.

If you are developing your client’s pictures yourself, Photoshop is an excellent photo editing program. Flaw removal, montage, and changing the color are a few of the enhancements you can use with Photoshop.

Look for ways to add extra value that you have not told them about. This will always generate good feelings. A special surprise will keep everyone talking and generating more business for you in the future. Think different. Imagine for example if you uploaded all their pictures onto a password protected part of your website so that they and their friends can login and view.

At the end of the day doing bridal photography can be a lot of fun and you can make good money at it. You may have to take your people skills to the next level but the financial returns will be worth it.

Find out more about Wedding Photography Singapore and Bridal Photography.

To a majority of investors looking at an investment, the rate of return is an important consideration. When presented with an investment opportunity, the first question they ask is the rate of return. The rate of return of investment is often examined with reference to a certain period of time.

There is a question that all investors ask inevitably: how much can be considered appropriate rate of return? How much is the best or ideal rate of return by which we could measure investments by? When the bank tells you to save your money in a time deposit account because it pays 5% rate of return compounded annually, how can you tell that you are making a good investment with a good rate of return?

To answer this properly, three factors need to be considered seriously: inflation, taxation and the highest rate of return for what is considered as the “safest investment”.

First off, what is inflation? According to Wikipedia, it is “a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time”. Inflation gnaws at the value of your money. So your P1,000 now may not be worth the same 20 years from now because the prices of goods and services keep increasing. Your P1,000 3 years from now may not be able to buy as much as you can buy today for the same cost.

The second item in consideration is taxation. It needs no discussion as everybody knows taxes. Tax rates vary as it all depends on who is in power.

The third factor to be considered is the highest rate of return for the safest investment ever known which are government bonds. Government bonds are safest since they are naturally fully backed by the government. It is highly unlikely that a government will go bankrupt (unless the country is in the middle of a civil war or political turmoil) therefore it is also unlikely that the government will renege on its financial obligations.

Using these three factors, we now have the complete inputs to the process of computing the ideal rate of return.

Mary Buffett and David Clark explain in the book “Buffetology” the interplay between these three factors. According to Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest and greatest stock market investor that the minimum rate of investment should not fall below 15%. In Chapter 25 of the book, the author estimated that just to cushion inflation and taxation, a 7.2% return on investment is needed. The book concludes that “to have a real increase in your wealth, it is necessary that the return on your wealth be at least equal to the effects of taxation and inflation”.

Focusing on the effect of inflation and taxation on the rate of return, the author cautioned that investing in bonds with an annual compounding rate of return of 8% would probably leave a rate of return of only 0.5% (8% less 31% income tax, less 5% inflation). Or worse, zero rate of return if the inflation rate rise to 9%. In conclusion, it does not make sense then to invest in government bonds or in any investment if the rate of return offered is below 8%.

Warren Buffet knows the importance of having a “wide margin of safety”. In keeping with which, he insists on 15% rate of return. Minus inflation and taxes, he is assured with a growth of about 8% rate of return compounded annually.

What makes government bonds an interesting consideration? Not only are they the safest investments but also they give the highest possible rate of return. Thus it has become the standard by which all other investments are measured. So if an investment can give only an 8% rate of return, it is better to invest in government bonds that guarantee 8% return on investment, rather than risking it in other investments. Should you find however, that a certain investment has a rate of return of over and above 15%, then put your money in that investment rather than in government bonds.

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