VARIATION IN TACTICS

 1. Sun Tzu said: In war, the general receives
  his commands from the sovereign, collects his army
  and concentrates his forces

 2. When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country
  where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. 
  Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. 
  In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. 
  In desperate position, you must fight.

 3. There are roads which must not be followed,
  armies which must be not attacked, towns which must
  be besieged, positions which must not be contested,
  commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

 4. The general who thoroughly understands the advantages
  that accompany variation of tactics knows how to handle
  his troops.

 5. The general who does not understand these, may be well
  acquainted with the configuration of the country, yet he
  will not be able to turn his knowledge to practical account.

 

Nest Eggs

Birds all the summer day
  Flutter and quarrel
Here in the arbour-like
  Tent of the laurel.

Here in the fork
  The brown nest is seated;
For little blue eggs
  The mother keeps heated.

While we stand watching her
  Staring like gabies,
Safe in each egg are the
  Bird's little babies.

Soon the frail eggs they shall
  Chip, and upspringing
Make all the April woods
  Merry with singing.

Younger than we are,
  O children, and frailer,
Soon in the blue air they'll be,
  Singer and sailor.

We, so much older,
  Taller and stronger,
We shall look down on the
  Birdies no longer.

My Shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

FIVE THINGS YOU MUST DO TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN MAIL-ORDER.

A mail-order business is a great business to start, either part-time or 
full-time. It's exciting, because it's always changing, and it can be very 
profitable, if run correctly. One important thing to remember, though, is 
that mail-order businesses are easy to start, but take work to maintain.  

Don't believe the hype you hear about making millions overnight in mail-order. It's happened to a few lucky fools, but that's about it. You have to use your head in mail-order, if you want to survive.  
There are five extremely crucial rules to remember when running a mail-order business. You still won't be guaranteed success, but it will be a whole lot easier, if you follow 
these rules.

1) EXPLORE FREE AND LOW COST MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES.  
  Too many people jump into a mail-order business with an expensive, 
  flashy full-page ad in a big magazine. That's great IF it's successful, 
  but what do you do when your ad only pulls enough orders to cover it's 
  cost, and you have no marketing budget left for new ads? Lick your 
  wounds, and close down your business.  
  The smart thing to do at the start (and throughout your mail-order career)
  is to take advantage of all the free and low cost marketing options at your 
  fingertips.  
  You say you don't know about any? Well, here are some ideas. 
  Send a sample of your product along with a press release to the products
  reviewers at the magazines your customers read. Also, write a short article about a 
  subject or issue that will interest your potential customers and that 
  has a connection to the product you sell, and submit it to those same 
  magazines.  
  For example, if you sell bass fishing lures, write an article 
  on the best times of the day for bass fishing. 
  Offer to talk about the subject on radio or TV talk shows regarding this subject.
  Cable TV, in particular, has plenty of talk shows with specific audiences that are 
  desperately in need of guests.
  In all of these instances, include a short paragraph with information on 
  how to contact you and a general description of the products or services 
  you sell. Offer your articles or expertise for free, in return for this 
  paragraph either appearing at the end of your article, or being read 
  after the interview.
  Marketing yourself as an expert in your business will get you far more 
  publicity than placing an expensive ad, and it's virtually free, except 
  for your time, a few stamps and a few phone calls. It works for me, 
  and I know it can work for you.

The Wind and the Sun

The Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger.
Suddenly they saw a traveller coming down the road, and the Sun
said: "I see a way to decide our dispute. Whichever of us can
cause that traveller to take off his cloak shall be regarded as
the stronger. You begin." So the Sun retired behind a cloud, and
the Wind began to blow as hard as it could upon the traveller.
But the harder he blew the more closely did the traveller wrap his
cloak round him, till at last the Wind had to give up in despair.
Then the Sun came out and shone in all his glory upon the
traveller, who soon found it too hot to walk with his cloak on.

Kindness effects more than severity.

The Frog and the Ox

"Oh Father," said a little Frog to the big one sitting by the
side of a pool, "I have seen such a terrible monster! It was as
big as a mountain, with horns on its head, and a long tail, and it
had hoofs divided in two."

"Tush, child, tush," said the old Frog, "that was only Farmer
White's Ox. It isn't so big either; he may be a little bit taller
than I, but I could easily make myself quite as broad; just you
see." So he blew himself out, and blew himself out, and blew
himself out. "Was he as big as that?" asked he.

"Oh, much bigger than that," said the young Frog.

Again the old one blew himself out, and asked the young one if
the Ox was as big as that.

"Bigger, father, bigger," was the reply.

So the Frog took a deep breath, and blew and blew and blew,
and swelled and swelled and swelled. And then he said: "I'm sure
the Ox is not as big asBut at this moment he burst.

Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction.

STRIP-O-GRAM Singing Telegram With A Twist

A stripping telegram is nothing more than a more mature, slightly 
provocative version of the singing telegram. Other than sing, the talents 
who deliver a stripping telegram dance and strip in front of their audience.

Some strips end while the "talent" still wears underwear. Other strips go 
either tipless or totally nude - an issue more sensitive with female rather 
than with male talents.

All told, a stripping telegram features a male or female modelwho dances 
and strips while delivering the telegram message to the intended recipient.

THE AGENT 
The entrepreneur offering this service is usually known as an agent. The 
business is generally referred to as an agency or delivery service.

It is common for the agent/entrepreneur to operate the business him or 
herself, usually answering phone calls for bookings and from talents looking 
for work. Agencies do not have full-time staff. If any, it would be limited 
to a receptionist who takes care of the booking and scheduling of the 
talents.

THE PAY SCALE 
Talents work on commission basis only. They usually deal with two or more 
agencies in the area, a practice that usually guarantee that they keep busy. The rate a talent is paid depend largely on the ex
tent of stripping their showcase entail.
  Here is a sample rate chart showing what customers pay and how much the 
  talent makes. (A) is what the client will pay for the showcase, and (B) 
  is what you would pay the talent.  
  The difference would bwe your profit.

FORMAT A B 
Undies $60 $30 
Topless $90 $50 
Nude $125 $75

  In more affluent markets, the rates may be up to 50% more than 
  this average. Plus, on top of their share, talents also get tips, 
  usually 20% to 30% of the standard rates.


THE BUSINESS 
An agency's overhead expenses are usually confined to office rental, 
telephone lines, and some form of advertising, the most common of which is 
the Yellow Pages. With an average of 6 to 7 bookings a day, an agency can 
earn $200 tp $300 a day.
   Licensing may be expensive if not difficult. Consult your city zoning for 
futher details pertaining to this type of business.