Make Free Calls Online – How? Making calls online is nothing new. There are various software out there to do that task like Skype, Yahoo Voice, etc… These services are normally between two PCs (desktop to desktop, desktop to laptop) but that is not what we are going to cover here now. These free calls we are talking about are going to be between PCs and old school land-lines or mobile phones. Ready?

Just a word of caution, this technique is only available for calls to the US and Canada. If you want to call other places for free, then this post does not cover that. Moving forward…

You’ve probably heard about Google Voice. But since you are reading this post, then probably not Google Voice is a beta service launched by Google last year. As of now it is still in its beta trial stage and that is probably why they are offering their calling services to US/Canada for free. So how do you avail of your free call to any US/Canada land-line phone/mobile?

Follow the steps below:

1. Get a Google Account. For this to work you have to have a working Google Account.
2. Open Gmail and install the Google Voice plugin. You can do this by looking at the left sidebar of Gmail and following the instructions when you click “Call phone”.
3. Once you’ve installed the plugin then you’re ready to rock n roll! Dial the US/Canada number and make sure your PC’s microphone and speakers are working. Or if you want, use your headset.

So that’s really there is to it. These free service is free tentatively until the end of 2011. For calls to other places on the globe, you have to buy credits before being able to do so. Having bought credits and used the service to call non-US/non-Canada countries, I confidently say that the service is working fine and a good alternative to calling on the phone.

Water Coolers for Home – A Good Idea? I’m writing this post because as of now I do not have a water cooler at home. However, I am thinking of buying one. Is it a good idea? Or should I just stick to what I am used to? If it is, what kind of water cooler should I buy? Let me search the internet for answers but before that let me tell you how we store and dispense water at home.

When I was just a small kid, my mom used to boil our drinking water. No, we didn’t drink it hot but once boiled, we let it cool down for a while before transferring it to several small water containers. These water containers will in turn be put into the refrigerator to cool and be suitable for drinking. That was like 2 decades ago.

Now, we do it in a slightly different way. Instead of boiling water to distill it and kill of harmful organisms in the water, we instead buy mineral water from mineral water stations. We buy the mineral water together with the tapped water container (those containers with a tap attached to it so that you could get water straight from the container via the tap…). That way, we don’t have to boil water and leave the “water experts” in making sure that our water is clean and potable. After that, we transfer the mineral water in to small water containers and do as the former paragraph describes.

To eliminate the “transfer from large water container to smaller container” step, I could buy a water cooler/dispenser which can host a large water container which is designed specifically to fit into a water cooler. These water containers do not contain taps but instead their opening holes are designed to fit into the water cooler/dispenser which in turn cool/heat the water to be dispensed at the user’s will.

From comfort’s point of view this is a good idea. But if I want to save money by keeping purchases and monthly electric costs down, then sticking to the existing method of cooling and dispensing water is the way to go.

Many business owners often contemplate whether or not they should outsource some of their business tasks. More importantly, they wonder when they should outsource business tasks. Almost all companies will benefit to some degree from outsourcing business activities; however, there are several factors that play a large role in determining when outsourcing tasks is a smart move.

Companies should only contract out business tasks when they have the money to do so. This of course makes sense being that all businesses want to be profitable. Many businesses that are just starting up will find they benefit from performing most of their activities in house. Some businesses use business credit cards to pay for outsourced services, which prove beneficial because it enables them to build up a good business credit history. Performing activities in house provides businesses enough time to identify which tasks they will benefit the most from outsourcing. It also enables businesses to make enough profit to have the money available to pay for outsourced services if they choose to not pay with business credit cards.

It is also smart to begin contracting out tasks when a business realizes their employees are spending much of their time on tasks that can be outsourced for an amount that is less than what the employee is being paid. There are certain tasks businesses should remember cannot be outsourced, as if they are then the quality of these activities will be lost. Keeping this is mind, if a business excels at performing certain tasks with high quality, then it is not wise to contract them out.

Outsourcing business activities is never something that should be rushed into. No business should ever outsource any tasks until they find an experienced service provider that is capable of meeting the business’s outsourced needs. It is also important for a business to not outsource any tasks until they have a budget drawn up for their outsourcing needs. Sticking to this budget is pertinent so that a profit can still be endured from outsourcing activities.

Many businesses find it beneficial to not contract out any business tasks until they have posted their outsourcing needs on a number of different outsourcing boards. Posting outsourced needs enables a business to partner with the best available outsourcing service providers, which can also lead to saving extra money. There are also a number of businesses that find it advantageous to provide potential outsourced service providers with a test project; this enables a business to see if a service provider is actually worth hiring. Many businesses will go through a number of service providers until they find one they are comfortable hiring on a permanent basis.

Almost all businesses find it beneficial to outsource their bookkeeping and accounting tasks. Both of these types of tasks are very time consuming and must be completed in accurate manners, making it all the more important for a business to wait until they find an experienced person or company to outsource these tasks to. With these types of tasks being so time consuming, it is also important for businesses to outsource them as soon as possible.

Any company that has an online website will generally find it helpful to outsource their website design processes. Along with website design processes, blog design processes are also beneficial to contract out. Outsourcing these types of tasks enables a business to rest assured their business identity is being portrayed in a professional manner on the Internet.

Outsourcing business activities, even by paying for the services with business credit cards, allows a company to focus their attention and time on other pertinent matters other than repetitious tasks. The most important area for a business to focus on is its sales, as this will allow them to increase profit levels and improve customer satisfaction.

Jerzon Senador – The Animal Abuser. I saw this photo of a poor puppy on FB hung on a clothesline of its owner to dry a few hours ago. I love animals especially dogs so I decided to blog about this. Animal cruelty unfortunately is a rampant thing in the Philippines. But to do it to a puppy, take a photo of it, post it online for everyone to see and boast about this “achievement” is not something to be left unnoticed. Here is a screenshot of the album:

While here is a screenshot of the poor puppy:

The offender’s name is Jerzon Senador. I’m not sure if that’s his real name or if he really is in one of the pics in the album but if you follow the “bread crumbs” you’d say it really is him.

I’m not sure what to do about this or to whom to report to so if you are reading this post, please me know via the comments section the best course of action.