Signs He’s Into You

This is a very straightforward infographic in honor of Valentine’s Day, which falls on the 14th of February every year.  Rather than making up a lot of extra information and doing a bunch of subheadings, I’m just going to list them out for you – the 14 signs he’s into you.  Check off the items on this list and you know your man’s all about you.

1. He calls just to say hi.

2. He invites you to share important events.  (why is there a skinny dipping sign next to this one?  since when is skinny dipping an important event?)

3. He’s willing to watch chick flicks.

4. He’s REALLY close with your family.  (truthfully, we don’t want him to be THAT close)

5. He’ll hang out with you on Football Sunday.

6. He likes to buy you nice clothing.

7. He regularly touches you.

8. He doesn’t get (too) drunk on a night out with you.

9. He listens to you vent.

10. He knows your friends’ names and nicknames – even the embarrassing ones! (why?)

11. He picks you up when you’re feeling down.

12. He notices when you get a trim.

13. He spends a lot of quality time on the phone with you.

14. He throws out pictures of old girlfriends.

Scorecard

Design:  B

It is what it is, and it looks OK.

Information:  N/A

It’s impossible to give out grades when it comes to love advice.  Odds are, if a guy does all this stuff, he’s into you, but does “into you” mean true love?  Who knows?

Source: Signs he’s into you by My Safety Sign

What Impacts Your Car Insurance Premium?

Wow, is there a lot of information on this infographic.  Not only is there a lot, but it is printed very, very tiny.  There is too much to go through in one post, and you’ll have to enlarge the image to see the detail, but it is worth it to see all the things that can impact your car insurance premium.

Some Highlights

Wheel/tire in the center branches out into sections like insurance history, coverage levels, gender, age, martial status, location, driving record, make or model of a car, vehicle use and credit history.  I’ll give you one tidbit from each “spoke” to provoke you to read all of them.

Insurance History

Insurers want to know if your previous policy was cancelled for non-payment?  Why?  You have to follow that thread on the graph.

Coverage Levels

Coverage limits and deductibles will affect your monthly rates – inspect the infographic to find out how.

Gender

Men have more accidents than women.  But does that mean their insurance premiums are higher?

Age

Some age groups are at higher risk and have to pay higher insurance premiums.

Marital Status

Married people have lower rates.

Location

Where you live, drive and park your car matters.

Driving Record

Drivers with previous violations prove to be higher risks which means their rates will be higher as well.

Make or Model of Your Car

Insurers consider the risk of theft, cost of the car and repairs, and overall safety record when determining rates.

Vehicle Use

The more you drive, the higher your risk, and the higher your rate.

Credit History

Your credit score helps determine your insurance score.

Big Items

Cell phone use while driving is popped out and you’re given a lot of information on that.  Same with speeding.

The Golden Rules

Comparison shop, pay your bills on time, keep your house in shape and drive responsibly.  All these things will help you save money on your car insurance.

Scorecard

Design:  C

TOO MUCH TINY TYPE!  The idea is good, but they could have gotten the idea across in a way that would be easier to read.

Information:  A

This is all the information you need to know not only what affects your car insurance premium, but you can find out intuitively the steps you need to take to fix your insurance score by learning these facts.

Source:  Car Insurance Infographic provided by Cheaper Car Insurance

The Truth About Hearing Loss

This infographic starts off sparse on the information but flows into an unexpected amount of information about hearing loss.

After the Ear

Get it, instead of “after the jump?”  After the big ear graphic, we learn the following:

• 1 in 10 adults suffer with mild tinnitus, while 1 in 100 notice a big impact on their life.
• 4 million people in the the UK suffer with undiagnosed hearing loss.
• Past the age of 40, more men than women will develop hearing loss.
• 2 million people in the UK currently ear a hearing aid.

The Warning Signs

• A TV that’s turned up way loud
• Struggling to follow conversations
• Becoming withdrawn or isolated
• Difficulty hearing in background sound
• Upset when confronted about hearing problems
• Turn head so ear faces the sound while listening

Stigmas

• It only happens to old people.  It can happen to anyone, any time.
• Hearing aids are unsightly.  Modern hearing aids are stylish and almost invisible.
• Nothing can be done to help.  Deterioration can be prevented.

Tests

Your hearing helps keep you safe – whether it helps you hear a smoke alarm or oncoming traffic.  When you can’t hear, it’s harder to interact with your family, and you miss out on pertinent information.

Professional tests are free, online tests paint a false picture, and it’s best to consult a trained audiologist when it comes to your hearing.

Scorecard

Design:  B+

Striking, visually, and nice use of red and white.

Information:  B-

It would have been nice if they had specified whether the information about testing is true for just the UK (the part about professional tests being free) or in other countries as well.

Source:  Amplifon presents The Sound of Silence by Amplifon

Stag and Hen Trends 2011

The UK calls them Stag and Hen parties.  Here, we call them Bachelor and Bachelorette parties.  So, Redseven, the leading hen and stag company, put together this infographic to show the trends on hen and stag parties in the UK.

Most Popular Locations

In the UK, hens favor London and stags favor Bournemouth.  Overseas, hens favor Marbella and stags favor Riga.

Biggest Expense

Booze.  No big shocker there.  Stags spend more money all around, but the food to booze ratio is smaller for hens than it it is for stags.

Surprise?

Hens like suprises.  44% of hen parties keep the destination secret, while only 14% of stag parties keep the destination a secret.

Fancy Dress

Hens spend more on fancy dress and gifts than stags.

Who is In Control?

15% of stags organized their own weekends, while 25% of hens controlled their own.

Flirting?

39% of stag parties admitted to flirting on their stag weekend, while 8.6% of stags admitted to some kissing.  21% of hen parties admitted to flirting, and 4.6% of hens admitted to kissing.  Shame.

Celebrity

When asked which celebrity stag or hen party they wished they’d attended, 34% of surveyed stags said Wayne Rooney and 62% of hens said Coleen Rooney.  The Rooneys, apparently, are very popular.

Scorecard

Design: B+

The black, white and red is striking, and the images are clean.

Information:  B+

It’s nice to know what they’re doing on the other side of the pond.

Source: Stag weekends by Redseven.

The Google Driverless Car

Have you even heard about this?  It’s not a new thing – a factoid at the top tells us that the General Motors Futurama exhibit at New York City’s 1939 World’s Fair featured a driverless electric car.  It was controlled by radio and powered by circuits embedded in the roadway.

It’s Coming

Now they tell us that Google has been testing vehicles equipped with driverless navigation systems, and that the cars tested have driven 1000 miles without human intervention and another 140,000 miles with a little bit of human intervention.  Incidentally, 140,000 miles equates to driving around the globe 5.6 times.  That’s a lot of driverless (or almost driverless) driving.  Nevada is on board with this, having recently passed legislation removing legal barriers around driverless technology.

It’s Safe?

They state the fact that 93% of all automobile crashes are caused by driver error, be it intoxication, texting while driving, etc.  Of all the Google driverless miles that have been driven, there have only been 2 crashes, and both times a human was behind the wheel.

Think of All Those Books You Can Read

“40 minutes of drive time becomes 40 minutes of ‘do something else while your car drives you where you need to go’ time.”

Efficient?

When you think about the fact that the average car is immobile for 96% of its lifetime (sort of like people), a driverless car can increase efficiency.  Your car can be doing something while you’re doing something else.  The examples given are both about sending your car to take your kid someplace or pick your kid up from someplace.  How do you feel about that?

Lost Jobs

There are 232,300 taxi drivers and chauffeurs in this country.  AND there are 647,500 bus drivers, 70% of whom work in school districts.  But then, would you put your kid on a driverless bus?  Who tells them to sit down?

Lost State Revenue

I’ll just quote their example directly.  “If each of California’s 22.6 million licensed drivers opted to get a $25 ID card instead of a $31 license renewal, the state would loose $135,943,728.”  Yeesh.

Reduced DUI

10,228 people died from drinking and driving-related accidents in 2010.  Those lives could have been saved if nobody was driving, and the cars drove themselves, right?  112 million people drive drunk every year.

And Parking…

When the car drives you, it can just drop you off wherever you are going, so you don’t have to park.  You just program the car to come get you.  In New York City, for example, you could save $10,000 per year on parking costs.

Scorecard

Design:  A+

This is a really good-looking infographic.  Seriously.  I have no criticism.

Information:  A

I’d give it a + but I’m afraid of technological advances like this.  What if the cars turned against us?  Kidding….

Source: Driverless Car from Life Insurance Quotes

Feed The Pig – Savings Strategies for 25-34 Year Olds

Any time is a good time to start saving.  Obviously, the sooner you start, the more money you will have when you really need it.  This infographic reminds us that there are a lot of things to save for – retirement, emergencies, personal goals, and more.  So what are the savings trends among people of prime savings age (25-34), and why aren’t more people saving money?

Saving Money…In Theory

A small graph in the upper left corner shows the most likely New Years Resolutions among 25-34 year-olds, and the number one choice is to save more money.  That’s followed by losing weight, spending more time with friends, and volunteer work.  In reality, only 4% of this demographic saved 20% or more, 24% saved about 6-9% of their income, 32% saved 1-5%, and 40% saved nothing.

Desirability vs. Affordability

This section reviews some of the things that people spend money on, and how money can be saved.  For instance, you may need to have a smartphone with a data plan, but you could save a lot of money if you only buy what you need.  For instance, everyone wants the latest and greatest, but that costs the  most.  A basic phone with limited features costs the least for a data plan, but might not offer the functionality you need.  If you go with a middle of the road free phone with a 2-year contract, you could save while still getting what you need technology-wise.

Similarly, people spend a lot of money on their home entertainment.  A cable package with the works, including a DVR, can cost $200 per month, while streaming web service only costs less than $10 per month.  Basic cable costs about $30 per month, so you could have that and the streaming web service and still be paying a lot less.

As for eating, everyone likes a nice meal out every now and then, but it is so much cheaper to cook at home.

Generally, if you use common sense and a little self control, you can save money without sacrificing too much of your comfort.

If You DO Start Saving

This graph is the best part of the whole infographic.  It shows you, based on how much you save per week, how much you could have in 5, 10, and 30 years.  It’s inspirational and makes you want to start saving, even (ahem) if you’re older than the demographic targeted in this infographic.

Scorecard

Design:  B

The design is clean, but there are a lot of tiny words that make the eyes swim a little.  Other than that, the colors and fonts are good and the background is quite nice.

Information:  A

Good information for everybody, and puts data in an easy-to-understand way that packs a punch.

Source:  FeedthePig.org

FSC-Certified Recycled Paper Saves Trees

ForestEthics created a survey & asked people, “Why Do Forests Matter to You?” This is the word cloud infographic they created from those responses.

Source: http://forestethics.org/wfdsurvey

Conquest Graphics asks some great questions about why recycled paper is so important in the printing industry.

• What are the issues involved in using recycled paper?
• Why is it important that you deal with companies that are FSC-certified?

These are questions which may be viewed as separate issues, but in fact they are related. It’s important that you as a responsible buyer of printed products understand these issues and why they matter to you.

Let’s start with the basics. FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship Council, and companies such as Conquest Graphics which have earned the FSC certification are those who have proved to this independent certifying organization that they meet critical standards in using paper products which come from forests which are responsibly managed, and that they use a significant percentage of post-consumer (recycled) paper in their products.

What does this mean to you, the buyer of printed materials, in practical terms?

It means that in many if not most of your buying decisions, the use of paper which contains some recycled material may lead to cost savings without reducing the quality of your product. Some printed products may require virgin pulp, and you may not be in a position to compromise on that. But wherever possible, if you can save money and use partially-recycled paper, it may well make sense to do so.

Conquest Graphics will work with you and make sure that you are able to use paper which meets your needs from a pricing and quality point of view. We do have the leeway to use paper which does not contain recycled material, and this usage does not affect our certification.

There are plenty of companies you can find to do business with which claim to be FSC certified but are not, or which make no claims along these lines and are not concerned with the issue. The fact that you are reading this brief article on the subject means that you are probably conscientious enough to want to understand the issues and make the right decision.

And so this brings us to the second question. (See above.) Why is it better to deal with us, and who is it better for?

The second part of that question is easy: it’s better for the environment, and if it’s better for the environment that means it’s better for everybody. Does this point need any further elaboration ? Probably not. If you are in favor of making business choices which favor the environment, then you will want to work with companies such as Conquest Graphics which have already made that commitment.

Now that we have established that we are committed in this direction, and that this direction helps the environment, why is it better for you to deal with us? What do you get out of it?

Simple: for whatever product or service you offer, you can legitimately say that you too are doing your part to help the environment. That makes you a steward of the environment, an environmentally-oriented company. And you can use that fact in your own marketing efforts, and you would be perfectly justified in doing so.

And since there are millions of consumers who prefer to deal with companies who are environmentally conscious, then you reap the benefits, as you should.

Contact Conquest Graphics today to join forces in printing brochures and other paper products which are environmentally friendly.

Uncle Bob’s Moving Guide

Who is Doing the Moving in America?

Uncle Bob throws us some statistics, so I’m just going to list them for you here:

The average American moves 11.7 times in their lifetime.  I don’t know how you move .7 times, but I digress.

Women will stay at a residence for about 5.6 years, while men only stick around for 4.9 years.  Men and women tend to stay in the same country.

Relocation is supposedly the third most stressful life event you can have.  It disrupts your routine, culture shock, and does other bad things to your head.

People in their 20′s move more than people of other ages, and more than 15% of all movers move out of state.  College?  Job transfers?

Renters move more often than homeowners.  Of course.

Helpful Moving Tips

Purchase good moving materials

Number and label each box to keep track of what is where.

Pack each box completely, and use paper to fill up gaps.

Be clever.  Move clothes and linens in drawers, and wrap up knick knacks and pack them inside your pots and pans.  Use space wisely.

Thoroughly clean your appliances.

Where Do People Go?

Palm Coast, Florida.  Warm, fun, etc.

St. George, Utah.  Good weather.

Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada.  Vegas, Baby.

Cape Coral, Florida.  See above.

Raleigh, NC.  The Triangle.  Woot.

Scorecard:

Design:  A

It’s pretty.  What can I say?

Information:  A

Who knew all that stuff about moving?

Source: 

Just who is doing all the moving in America? This infographic offer readers
tips on how to move more efficiently and which locations are seeing the
highest increase in population over the past decade. Uncle Bob’s Self
Storage offers valuable add-on services such as Dri-guard, a
state-of-the-art dehumidification system. Patrons can also take advantage of
Uncle Bob’s rental trucks  and a national Customer Care Center that features a fully integrated sales and
reservation system for storage units.

Treating Hearing Loss with Stem Cells

This infographic informs us that the Cord Blood Registry and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston have partnered to form a trial that will infuse children with hearing loss with their own cord blood stem cells to try to treat the hearing problem.

Causes of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can be caused by chemical exposure, infections like the measles and meningitis, and by head injuries.

Impact of Hearing Loss

Hearing loss can impact a child’s learning abilities, their social development, and their speech and language acquisition.

How it Works

There are thousands of children in the United States with acquired hearing loss.  The damage occurs inside the Cochlea, where damaged cells in the inner ear cause the hearing loss.  An infusion of the cord blood stem cells into the Cochlea could repair the damaged cells and improve hearing.  That is what the trial is testing.

Scorecard

Design:  A+

This is a beautifully designed, easy-to-understand infographic.

Information:  B

More information, like the amount of children participating in the trial, etc. would be nice to know.

Source:  Hearing Loss Stem Cell Treatment Infographic

Appliances – The Vicious Cycle

Most people have been in a shaky financial boat for some time now.  It’s hard to get a loan to buy a house, a car, or even to get a credit card.  What if your refrigerator, stove, or other essential appliance craps out on you and you need a new one?  You don’t have the available cash, your credit cards are maxed out, you can’t get approved for a new credit card, and the Appliance Fairy isn’t knocking at your door.  Do you spend a dollar on a lottery ticket and hope for the best, or do you do what many people are being coerced into doing and rent to own your new appliance?

That’s wha t this infographic is about.  And though it’s from the UK and the money numbers are in £ instead of $, you get the idea that for the price you end up paying for that appliance, you could have bought two or three of the same.

Inflated Prices

A high price for a washing machine (in the UK) is £470.  If you pay to rent to own, you end up paying £1250.

APR

The APR on a rent to own appliance can be as much as 49.9%.  That’s compared to 4-6% for a school loan, 10% on a property loan, etc.

Saving vs. Rent to Own

If you save the equivalent of £5 per week for 50 weeks, you can buy a new washing machine, TV, refrigerator, or “cooker.”  If you go the rent to own route it could take you as many as 150 weeks to pay it off.  Think smart and cut back on the lattes.  You can buy your new appliance outright in no time.

Scorecard

Design:  B

It’s OK, but not stunning.  The colors are sort of annoying, but the graphics and text are clean.

Information:  A

Pretty cut and dry, really, but gets the point across.

Source:  Appliances Online