Health Club Statistics

By Todd Sinett

Health Club Reality

Did you know the fitness industry structures their entire business banking on the fact that you will not exercise? Actuarial studies have found that the average gym user will go less than twice a week. With the average monthly cost of health club memberships reaching $55, on average more than $39 worth of the membership goes to waste, each month! In a study of over 25,000 people in England by BMRB’s target group found that 67% of people who have gym memberships don’t use it at all!

In a study performed by Stefano Dellavigna an assistant professor of economics at the University of California at Berkely and and Ulrike Malmendier , an assistant professor of finance at Stanford they attempted to find out the reason why people buy health club memberships but don’t use them. They surmised that is because of consumer overconfidence. First people overestimate the number of times that they will go to the gym and then secondly they congratulate themselves by buying an expensive gym membership that rewards the frequent visitors with financial savings. This consumer overconfidence results in millions of dollars of profits for the health-clubs all the while reducing household income by hundreds of dollars a year.

This issue is so widespread that an article was published in the New York Times titled ‘How Much Does it Cost Not to go to the Gym?’ In the article the author surmised that the fictional British Bridget Jones said it best: ‘Gym visits 0, number of gym visits so far this year 1, cost of gym membership per year 370 pounds.’

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wKzsyKUsDY[/youtube]

These health clubs profit when you don’t utilize your membership, in fact they need you to not show up because they have oversold the space in the gym. If everyone who had a gym membership showed up the gyms would create a mass chaos. There have been hundreds of articles written on the subject of gym membership contracts. Some gyms have even been investigated for their enforcement of their contracts. Essentially it is ‘buyer beware’ and make sure that you read the fine print. Joining a gym is a legal contract that needs to be taken seriously. The only way to tip the scale in your favor is to use the membership that you have purchased.

Essentially they are going to get your money, yet if you don’t use the gym, they win!

Health-club Statistics

* Two thirds of all personal training sessions are being conducted at the gym.

* It is projected by American Sports Data that by 2030 the number of older Americans is expected to double from 35 million to 70 million.

* Older Americans represent the largest growth opportunity for health-clubs. Over the past 15 years, the defining characteristic of industry change has been the growth in the population of older health club members. In 2004, there were 10.2 million members over the age of 55, an increase of 562% over 1987.

* The busiest month for new members happens to be January. *Women continue to represent the slight majority of overall health club membership, accounting for 52 percent 2004.

About the Author: After a combined 50 years of experience treating celebrities, first ladies and dignitaries, Madison Avenue doctors Todd and Sheldon Sinett at last reveal their breakthrough strategies to Health and Wellness. To learn more about Drs. Todd and Sheldon Sinett visit

balanceinthebody.com

today!

Source:

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Southern Us Cuisine

By Kadence Buchanan

If you’ve never tasted Southern food , then you don’t know what you’re missing. But truth be told, chances are you already have enjoyed Southern food but just didn’t know it.

There’s a distinct cuisine in the Southern United States that is best represented by Soul food, Creole, Cajun, Tex-Mex and Floribbean. Naturally, this food was heavily influenced by the cuisine of many groups that have inhabited the area throughout history, including African-American, Native American, British, Irish, French and Spanish cuisine.

Mint juleps, pecan pie, country ham, chicken-fried steak, grits, biscuits, especially with gravy or sorghum, sweet tea, pit barbeque, catfish, fried green tomatoes, cornbread, fried chicken, okra, butter beans, pinto beans, “greens”, and black eyed peas are other types of food that are associated with the South.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN_uvGKwHy0[/youtube]

There are food chains that specialize in Southern food too, such as Cracker Barrel, that have been quite profitable catering to a special niche. Their reach has extended beyond the South and into the mainstream American markets. Other nationally popular Southern chains are Stuckey’s and Popeye’s which are known for their “pecan shoppe” and spicy fried chicken, respectively. Meanwhile, there are also national chains that are now considered mainstream but have Southern roots including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Krystal, Shoney’s, the Waffle House and Hardee’s. The popular donut chain Krispy Kreme also has its roots in the South.

In addition, there are chains that specialize in Southern food that have decided to cater solely to the Southern market, such as Po’ Folks and Famous Amos as well as Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q,

Within the South itself, food tends to vary by region. In Southern Louisiana, for example, Cajun and Creole food is very popular. Soul food is generally associated with black communities but is also enjoyed by others in the South. North Carolina and South Carolina have traditionally been rice-loving locales while people in North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas just love their barbecues. Virginia is the home of those famous Smithfield hams while Louisiana is renowed for its hot sauces. Florida is where you can trace the roots of Key Lime Pie, while it’s peaches and peanuts in Georgia. Texas is famous for its chili while Kentucky has its Burgoo.

About the Author: Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including

Cooking

,

Pets

, and

Home

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

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SpaceX scrubs Falcon I rocket launch

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

Creator of website satirizing Glenn Beck on winning domain name case

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Wikinews interviewed the creator of a parody website satirizing American political commentator Glenn Beck, about his thoughts after prevailing in a domain name dispute brought by Beck before the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. Florida resident Isaac Eiland-Hall created the website in September, and it asserts Beck uses questionable tactics “to spread lies and misinformation”. Eiland-Hall was represented in the case by free speech lawyer Marc Randazza.

Wikinews interviewed Randazza for the article “US free speech lawyer Marc Randazza discusses Glenn Beck parody”, and previously reported on the Beck v. Eiland-Hall case in articles, “US free speech lawyer defends satire of Glenn Beck”, “Satirical website criticizes Glenn Beck for ‘hypocritical’ attempts to silence free speech”, and “Glenn Beck loses domain name case over parody website”.

Australia: Victorian government to trial driverless vehicles on public roads

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Yesterday, the state government of Victoria, Australia announced their decision to trial self-driving vehicles on two of the state’s major connecting motorways, the CityLink and Tullamarine Freeway. The trial is to use autonomous vehicles from automobile companies including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Tesla. The two-year trial is to have three phases.

The cars are to drive alongside commuters, but in public testing a driver is always to be present, as Victorian law requires drivers always keep a hand on the steering wheel. However, in occasional closures of the Burnley Tunnel, with no other drivers to endanger, the cars are to be tested with nobody in the vehicle.

Lane assist, cruise control, and recognition of traffic signs are in the trial’s first phase, expected to complete before the end of the year. This includes monitoring how the driver-less cars respond to road conditions, including lane markings and electronic speed signs.

“Victoria is at the forefront of automated vehicle technology — we’re investing in this trial to explore ways that this technology can be used to reduce crashes and keep people safe on our roads”, said Luke Donnellan, the Victorian Minister for Roads and Road Safety. He noted, “Ninety per cent of the fault of accidents is human error […] so we know that if we can take out human error we will have less accidents”.

Tim Hansen, Victoria Police’s Acting Assistant Commissioner, said that police had founded a project team to investigate how self-driving vehicles would change policing on roads. “Can we intercept vehicles more safely to avoid pursuits and ramming?”, he asked.

The trial is a partnership between the state government, Victoria’s road management authority VicRoads, owner of the CityLink toll road Transurban, and insurance company RACV.

Solutions To Common Mistakes In E Commerce Website Development

byadmin

A common misconception for Atlanta business owners developing their own eCommerce sites is that using a template from an eCommerce platform is all that is needed to launch a terrific website.

While these templates do offer support in creating a website, they can also be modified and added to, often resulting in a complicated, difficult to navigate site for end-users. To avoid this issue, working with a company specializing in eCommerce website development offers a practical solution to these common problems.

Too Much Going On

A common mistake with do-it-yourself eCommerce websites is information and graphic overload on home pages, landing pages, and sales pages. This can even include simple issues such as too many different colors, graphics, and fonts used on a page.

The solution to this issue is to consider the use of white space on the page and to keep information in concise, informative blocks. A top eCommerce website development team looks at both the functionality as well as the overall design of the site to provide the correct balance.

Security and Trust

A professional company in Atlanta offering eCommerce website development puts security for the end-user as a central component of the site. This means ensuring the SSL certificate is valid and recognized across all platforms and browsers, and also providing the necessary information to help the end-user to feel confident in putting their personal and financial information on the site to place an order.

Ensuring the shopping cart functions and there are no error messages or inconsistencies in the checkout process are always a critical part of eCommerce website development. When consumers have difficulties or see atypical types of pages at checkout, they are very unlikely to continue with the purchase, resulting in abandoned shopping carts, low conversion rates, and limited sales. On the other hand, a seamless, secure and positive experience at checkout builds customer confidence and keeps them coming back.

United States to expand ‘information operations’ against terror

Sunday, February 19, 2006

The United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that U.S. public diplomacy efforts need to do more in the media to communicate a message friendly to democracy.

“We’ll need to do all we can to attract supporters to our efforts and to correct the lies that are being told, which so damage our country, and which are repeated and repeated and repeated,” Rumsfeld said in an address to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York city on Friday. He said that insurgent groups have learned to use media and its new satellite and Internet technologies, and are working 24/7, to manipulate public opinion.

Rumsfeld called for the need to implement a “strategic communications framework” to present news information in Afghanistan and Iran. He warned, ” …the [news] vacuum will be filled by the enemy and by news informers that most assuredly will not paint an accurate picture of what is actually taking place.” He said there was a need for communications training of military public affairs officials. The Department of Defense would begin with an emphasis on using out-sourced media expertise found in the private-sector, as was done with the controversial use of Lincoln Group who placed pro-democracy stories in Iraqi media in a business arrangement with the U.S. military.

Rumsfeld was critical of the U.S. media for its sharp response to that program at his address in New York, which he said had the effect of stopping that military effort. In an appearance on the The Charlie Rose Show, a televised program taped earlier and then aired by PBS last Friday, the same day as his New York address, Rumsfeld said “When we heard about it, we said, ‘Gee, that’s not what we ought to be doing.’ … They stopped doing that.” But in a Los Angeles Times report, a Lincoln Group insider and a U.S. commander in Iraq, General George W. Casey, said the program was still in existence.

The White House has signaled a shift towards the use of media in the “War against Terror”. The U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Senate testimony on Wednesday last week that $10 million is already appropriated to support political dissidents, labor union leaders and human rights activists in Iran. The Bush administration will be asking for an additional $75 million in funding for the 2006 fiscal year to expand the program.

Avalanche buries cars in Colorado

Saturday, January 6, 2007

An avalanche on U.S. Route 40, which was 100 feet wide and 15 feet deep, has buried many cars, caused other cars to be pushed over the edge of an expressway, and injured eight people, just outside of Denver, Colorado. The avalanche started at 10:30 AM, starting about 12 miles off Interstate 70, and taking three different paths down the mountain before coming to a stop.

“Our crews said it was the largest they have ever seen. It took three paths,” said a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation, Stacey Stegman.

All eight (7 adults, 1 minor) have been taken to the St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver. According to a hospital spokeswoman, all of the victims suffered minor injuries. Seven patients were released on Saturday. There were no casualties.

U.S. route 40 is currently closed to traffic. According to Winter Park spokesman Matt Sugar, there are no plans to close the ski hills. “We’ve gotten calls from all over the country asking if the resort is closed,” he said, “and the answer is no.”

This is the third snow storm to hit the Denver area in three weeks.

ANZACs remembered ninety years after assault on Gallipoli

Monday, April 25, 2005

Australians and New Zealanders throughout the world stood still for their national war memorial days in remembrance of the failed Australian and New Zealand Army Corps — ANZAC — attack on Gallipoli, Turkey that began on 25 April 1915. The fateful attack was designed to end the First World War more quickly by creating a supply line to Russia. A hundred-thousand died in the battle, remembered every year as ANZAC Day by both nations.

The British-directed battle of Gallipoli is often seen as the defining moment in the ‘birth’ of Australia and New Zealand. With New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark saying “For New Zealand as for Australia it was at Gallipoli that our young nations came of age.” [1]. This being the 90th anniversary of the attack, Clark, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Britain’s Prince Charles are all at Gallipoli to remember that fateful campaign.

Some controversy has been created about Australian Prime Minister John Howard not attending the New Zealand ceremony at Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This has upset many people as it is a break in a tradition that the Prime Ministers attend the ceremonies of both countries.