• To check the status of a specific flight, enter the airline and flight number (e.g., United 1234) into the search line of Google. Select www.flightstats.com at the top which shows departure and arrival times, plus you can check the on-time record or watch the flight path in real time.
• To check current conditions for weather and air traffic delays at airports, enter the airport code plus the word airport (e.g., “PDX airport”) into the search line of Google and select the FAA link at the top.
• To check airport security line wait times, use either www.flightstats.com or enter the airport code plus the words security wait times (e.g., “PDX security wait times”) into the search line of Google and select www.airports.com at the top.

• To check the status of a specific flight, enter the airline and flight number (e.g., United 1234) into the search line of Google. Select www.flightstats.com at the top which shows departure and arrival times, plus you can check the on-time record or watch the flight path in real time.

ESFPs are friendly, outgoing, fun-loving and naturally drawn to people. They are quite enthusiastic and exuberant, and are usually well liked by others. They are good at meeting people and helping them enjoy themselves. They are sympathetic toward people and generous with their time and money. At their best, they are able to realistically meet human and situational needs in a fun and lively way.

Living

ESFP children are friendly, warm, active, and enthusiastic. They are very giving and concerned about others. They like to make others happy, believing that "it is better to give than to receive." Being on the receiving end may make them feel self-conscious. They tend to be good at comforting others, regardless of whether others are in need. ESFPs are aware of what is happening around them and notice much that escapes the eyes of others. They are tied into the present, particularly with people, they may sense what is happening with others before others know it. They may also notice what is going on in their environment and take delight in a spring flower, a bird's song, or a bright fabric, pointing these out in their enthusiastic way for others to enjoy. They are popular and gregarious, and are often busy in social activities with others. As teenagers, they are likely to be instigators of activities with their friends. It is difficult to catch them sitting still. They tend to be bright and sunny in disposition and enjoy laughing at themselves and others. It is hard for them to be "down," mainly because of the excitement of each upcoming event.

As adults, ESFPs lead what might look like "a charmed existence,' even when things are not going well for them. They live with the idea that "the glass is half full" and seem to land on their feet, even when ...

No-charge computer-based speech timer — Patricia Gangi

Developed by a Toastmaster, I found this large timer clock useful for timing my speeches and vignettes. In addition to the visual symbols, it can play different audio tones to make you aware of time remaining (you even get a resounding round of applause at the end!). It has all the standard TM speech lengths pre-set, but also provides a manual option for longer speeches. Download at www.martinz.net [Windows only]

Survey your early attendees — Jeff Davidson

Put to use those minutes before you go on by giving early arrivals a quick task they’ll gladly handle: On a small card, I ask them, “What is the least you hope to get out of this program?” and “What is the most you hope to get out of this presentation?” You’d be amazed at the level of responsiveness and the valuable insights that you can quickly include in your presentation.

Southwest Chicken Combo

1 large chicken breast or 2 small/medium breasts

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 16 oz. can of salsa (your choice of spicyness, I use Medium)

Cook Chicken breast thoroughly, put in freezer to cool down.  Then shred as finely as you can with your fingers.  Return shredded chicken to a medium pan.  Combine the rest of the ingredients.  Heat to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.

You can wrap this in a tortilla or serve it on hot rice.  Top with light sour cream or shredded cheddar cheese.

I have a great recipe for Shrimp and Angel Hair Pasta, recipe can be doubled, tripled, depends on the size of the crowd.

½ lb. cleaned and deveined shrimp

½ lb. angel hair pasta

Salt for pasta water

1 or 2 lemons, juice one lemon. Remove the rind from the other lemon and cut into thin slices.  Optional to ½ or ¼ them. Remove the seeds – goes with out saying really.

½ or more good white wine

1 or 2 pieces of garlic, put through a garlic press

4 T butter

1 or 2 T of olive oil

Red pepper flakes – a few if you don’t like it “hot” or more if you like it “hot”.

Put water on w/salt for the angel hair pasta.  Put the oil in a medium sauté pan and add the butter.  Bring to a sizzle, and not too high or the butter and garlic will burn.  Add the garlic and shrimp, sauté lightly. Just before the shrimp is pink; add the lemon juice and white wine and sliced lemon.  Just, before pouring over the pasta add red pepper flakes.

Drain the pasta and put in a serving bowl, pour the shrimp and sauce over the top.  Enjoy!

I like this dish because it is quick, gourmet, and yummy!

Eliminating picture background color in PPT — Marilyn Snyder

When inserting a picture onto a PowerPoint slide, have you wondered how to get rid of the surrounding background color so it just blends nicely onto your slide? Answer: If the picture is of a person or object that is surrounded by a single color background, you can eliminate or hide the background color right in PowerPoint 2003 or 2007. Insert the picture into PPT, click on it and the picture toolbar shows up. On the picture toolbar is a kind-of pencil icon called Set Transparent Color. Click on the pencil, then point to the unwanted background color and left click. The background color disappears and makes the picture look like it’s floating on your background.

No-charge eBook about LinkedIn — Dan Janal

If you’re wondering if you should be using LinkedIn — or even how — I think you’ll find Jill Konrath no-cost eBook “Can LinkedIn Increase Your Sales?” helpful. Download your copy at www.sellingtobigcompanies.com/linkedin

(Editors’ note: Ford Saeks covered this issue and more in his recent SNN teleseminar Use Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Speaking & Consulting Business. You can order the CD or MP3.)

SNN’s “Beginning a Profitable Speaking Business: 11 Experts Reveal Their Best Practices to Start and Grow a Lucrative Speaking Practice.” Includes recordings, handouts, transcripts and consultations.

Responses to request for experiences with payloadz.com — Dave Paradi

Before sharing the comments about this service, I thought it best to share what the service is. PayLoadz (www.payloadz.com) is a service for selling downloadable products online. You upload your products (MP3 files, videos, PDF files, etc.) to their server and set a price for each product. You then get a link that you can put into a newsletter or on your Web site. When a customer clicks on the link, the payment is made through PayPal and then the customer is directed to the Payloadz site to download the file. You are notified of the transaction once the payment has been made.

You can view the pricing for the service on their Web site, but at the time this is being written, they offer a free service if you sell less than $100 in any 30-day period and there are reasonable restrictions on size of files. The rates then go up based on the dollar volume of your sales and the total space needed for your files. This service can be a good way to get started selling electronic products online or complement your existing online product sales with products that customers want immediately instead of being shipped to them.

Comments from others:

• Rachel Colic — I have used Payloadz for several of my clients. I love it! It integrates with PayPal perfectly and is really user friendly.
• Ed Rigsbee — I started using Payloadz a few weeks ago. It works well for sales of electronic products.
• Lynne Waymon — Works fine for us. When customer buys our downloadable product (print and audio) thru PayPal it gets delivered thru PayLoadz. No problems.
• Cheryl Pickett — Just wanted to let you know that I just started using Payloadz to sell a short eBook. I had no problem uploading my file. My designer also thought it would be a good idea to use it vs. the expense of having them set up something for me on my site.
  
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Low-cost marketing ideas — Caryn Terradas

Michael Hart specializes in low-cost and no-cost marketing. His Web site (michaelhartspeaks.com) is full of helpful tips that won’t cost you a thing. You will find step-by-step instructions on how to write your own press release. There is a list of media contacts to send the press release to and, most importantly, how to write the title. Marketing is one of the hardest jobs for any profession and this Web site proves invaluable.

One-time-use credit card numbers — Lynn Dye

PayPal is offering a valuable, no-charge service for those who are wary of giving credit card information when making an online purchase. Now you can use PayPal’s Secure Card plug-in — it’s a small download and install (the plug-in is Windows-only, though the service is available for Mac users). After installation, you’ll see a PayPal icon in your browser tool bar. If you’re at a site and you’ve not shopped there before, use PayPal’s plug-in. It will generate a one-time credit card number to pay for the purchase. This way, your own credit card is never displayed and you are 100% protected by PayPal from an unauthorized purchase.

There are several credit card companies that will issue you a single-use number, including Citibank and Discover. Contact your credit card company to see if they offer this service. You can read about the PayPal service here (you must log into your PayPal account to view this page).