How To Make A Good Impression And Live With Taxi Karma
Taxis are a part of everyone’s life, whether you use them for getting to the end of the drive way in the morning or you work in a car wash. There are times when a taxi can be your hero or your best friend, and then there are times when you curse the very tires they roll on. The black beetle shaped orbs of heat zoom around our cities, day and night connecting people and escorting maidens, they are emergency maternity hospitals and drunken spaces of memory teleportation. No doubt that the taxi is a fixture in our lives for now and the future.
Out of respect for these urban transportation cocoons, here are a few tips on how best to utilise their services.
Hailing a Cab
When hailing a cab on the street, stand in an area where there is a clear place for it to stop so that it isn’t forced to block traffic. This will benefit other traffic, the taxi and you. Make it clear well in advance that you want him to stop, by keeping your arm raised until he is within 100 yards and its indicator is on. Make sure you know the address of where you are going and tell the driver in advance if you need to go via another address or a cash machine or something.
Cab Chat
If the taxi driver has the radio on there is a chance that he may not want to chat. There may be some news he is listening to or a football match. This is their office so respect them; keep your feet off the seats and keep the conversation polite. Try not to get into any sort of an argument as you may distract them while driving, putting you, them and other traffic in danger.
Introducing: Taxi Karma
There is a little known belief that if you treat taxis with respect then the next time you are stranded in an unfamiliar part of town, one will be more likely to come to your rescue. This is called Taxi Karma. So for example, if you are driving and a taxi is waiting to pull out, stop and let them go out, and next time you need a taxi, you will have a better chance of one appearing from the fog. Taxi karma can also be gained by: tipping taxi drivers, being patient when waiting for or ordered one, being loyal to a taxi company and following the tips mentioned above.
Try utilizing taxi karma next time you come across a cab. It might just save your life.
David Somberville regularly uses Belfast taxis to get from A to B, and Belfast airport taxis come in pretty handy for his business trips.
With Summer come Wasps and this Guide on How to Avoid Them
We all know them. We all hate them. Wasps are a menace to every sugary drink swilling, ice cream licking, and window opening person at this time of year. They are the culprits of many death defying seated dances of fear seen in offices with open windows everywhere and the cause of millions of smashed ornaments and photo frames. People are scared of them and people don’t like being scared.
The common wasp, or ‘yellowjacket,’ is found in the Northern Hemisphere and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. It builds nests in hollow trees and abandoned mammal holes in the ground and houses a Queen wasp who is often the only fertile female among 10,000 worker wasps in a colony. Their colony is made up of the Queen, who is a birth machine, workers who look after the young and protect the Queen and foragers. It is these foragers which cause us the most grief on a hot sunny day. With the following advice you can avoid further terrorization.
Don’t Attack Them
The worst thing you can do is attack a wasp. In general you will not have any problems with wasps if you leave them alone. They are not vampire bats out to suck your blood. They are just looking for food. With this in mind, if you do get annoyed by a wasp buzzing around you, the chances are you have something it wants. Try moving away for a minute so that it loses interest. If it follows you stand near something sweet smelling like some flowers or a sugar bowl, so that you seem less inviting. Or spray yourself with some deodorant. Again, try not to anger it.
Remove It
If you’re stuck inside and really can’t get away from your new friend, wait for it to settle nearby and cover it with a glass or cup. Without lifting the vessel, slip a narrow piece of paper under the lip catching the wasp inside. Now all you need to do is take it outside and it is free. If you really annoy it and it becomes aggressive, you may have to be aggressive back, use a strong piece of disposable paper, (a rolled up magazine is best,) and wait for it to land on a flat surface. Make sure to hit it first time or it will just get angrier.
Prevention
Try closing your windows or conservatory doors securely if you are inside and you fear wasps coming in. If you are outside, wear some insect repellant or limit any food you may have to the minimum. So if you are having a picnic, try keeping everything in a cool box. Finally, if your tiny tormentor is just not going away, you have only one option. Run for it!
David Somberville has had a few close calls with wasps in conservatories but finds that his UPVC windows
Which Are The Best Jobs To Do In Health Care Services?
Do you have a desire to work in healthcare but don’t know which sort of job to go for? Have you dreamt of working in a field in which you can help people, and really contribute to society? A medical career is certainly a noble path to stride down, but knowing which direction is right for you can stop you in your tracks. Here is the lowdown on some medical jobs and why they could be right for you.
Doctor
The noblest of professions some would say. With the selflessness of a charity worker, the scientific respect of an engineer and the prestige of a lawyer. Doctors are certainly at the top of the pile when it comes to desirable medical jobs. You could be earning pots of cash, saving lives and looking good doing it. On the flip side, the hours can be excruciatingly long, night shifts can be a regular necessity, stress is a constant problem and your best friends will bug you with their questions about extra nipples and inexplicable discharge when all you want to do is eat your Christmas dinner.
Nurse
There is a high demand for nurses everywhere. They are an absolutely crucial part of health care services around the country and are often unappreciated. Florence Nightingale is the famous founder of modern nursing and she would be proud of how far nurses have come in terms of clinical skills and professionalism. However, nursing tends to be an often thankless task. Responsibilities range from the dirty and physically demanding to the complex, stressful and emotional.
Paramedic
Paramedics lead the charge in emergency medicine. Spending every day flying through the streets in their screaming ice cream vans, on their way to save someone mid-heart attack or trapped in a crashed vehicle, it is not a job for the feint hearted. This role is high risk, and if putting your life on the line to save another gets your blood pumping, then this could be the one for you. Danger, of course, has its risks. So bare this is mind when you consider zooming down the high street or hanging under a car wreck giving CPR.
There are hundreds of other roles within the health sector, but as you can tell, all of them have their pros and cons. Think long and hard about which would bring you the right lifestyle. But consider this: your decision could result in you saving a life.
David Somberville has worked in many industries including Medical Locum Jobs with experience in Dietetic Jobs and other sectors.
Is Your Medical CV Up To Scratch?
For everyone in the medical professions, getting a new job can be an incredibly demanding process. From finding the right vacancy in the right area or getting a pay package that is fair for your skill level, down to finding an organisation that fits your career aspirations. Amongst a highly competitive and extremely high standard of competition, how can your CV work best for you?
Sell Yourself
The first thing that should be on your CV is a short sharp paragraph outlining who you are and what your career aspirations are. This should grab the reader’s attention and give them a few nuggets of information about you that really makes them think, Hey this person sounds like who we’re looking for. You will already have made a good impression before they have even started reading your qualifications.
Make sure to know exactly what the job is you are applying for when writing this statement. Highlight your achievements which most demonstrate your suitability for the roll.
Qualifications and Experience
Of course you need all your relevant qualifications and positions held to date. Don’t bother with your 100m swimming certificate no matter how proud you are of it. Don’t be tempted to put your most relevant jobs first, but keep everything in reverse chronological order. This makes it easy for an employer to follow and allows them to get the best impression of your career to date. If you believe you deserve this job, you shouldn’t need to bend the truth.
Registrations and Union Memberships
Include your General Medical Council registration status and whether you are a member of the Medical Defense Union or not. These may seem like obvious things to include but will help to avoid unnecessary rejections as a result of sending an unchecked CV.
Clinical Experience
This should be in a separate section so that they stand out from your employment history. Your clinical competency is key for many jobs, so having this stand out and not lost in your possibly long history, will make a difference.
Teaching experience and publications
If you are lucky enough to have published work then this is what should go next. Include a full reference to the publication and an outline of your article. Keep this brief, as your employer can check your reference once you have been short listed. Also include any teaching experience you have. If you are applying for a medical teaching position this may well be incorporated into your main employment history.
With all these sections along with some final details about your career aspirations, echoing your opening statement, and something about your hobbies for a final touch. Watching TV is not a hobby. With these brief tips you will be well on your way to an attractive medical CV. Good Luck
David Somberville has experience with recruitment in the medical locum jobs sector, with particular knowledge of physiotherapy locums and radiography locums.
A Short History of the Taxicab
Taxis have been around since gladiators fought lions and Roman legions stormed around Europe taking over countries and building lots of walls. Their use has grown from their early beginnings, until now being an extremely common sight around towns and cities across the globe. They provide a crucial part of the transportation infrastructure and a solid income for geographically minded drivers.
The most important invention which instigated the birth of the taxicab was the first taximeter. In ancient Rome they came up with a mechanism where small balls were dropped from the back of the horse and cart, so that when the destination was reach, the driver could count how many balls had dropped and calculate how much was owed by the passenger.
Horse drawn carts and carriages, rickshaws and for a while electricity powered taxis were in common use up until the end of the 19th century. The first petrol powered taxis appeared at the turn of the century and were the norm until recently. The invention of the two-way radio in the 1940s instigated a major acceleration in taxi use, as their use vastly improved the efficiency of taxi services and the speed in which customers could be reached.
Nowadays, Yellow cabs in New York, the Black cabs in London and the auto-rickshaw (or Tuk-Tuk) found mostly in Asia, are all icons, used daily by thousands of commuters and are commonly key figures in stories people bring back from trips around the globe.
The use of diesel engines in taxis is now the norm as this allows for a longer time between fill ups and generally a more efficient and longer lasting engine. A major plus for hard working taxis. Also, now that hybrid technology is becoming more and more viable, hybrid taxi cabs are tipped to be the next step forward. Their systems run on electricity at low speeds and when you put your foot down, the engine kicks in to boost acceleration. As taxis generally slide around town at cruising speed this means that they will save a lot of money on petrol.
Next time you order a taxi, think about how far this institution has come from the times when Julius Caesar ruled the civilized world. Their style, presence and idiosyncrasies are here to stay and we can only imagine where they will be in 100 years time. Hover Taxi anyone?
While he’s no Julius Caesar David Somberville regularly gets around in Belfast taxis for pretty reasonable Belfast taxi fares considering.