Grow Your Business With Joint Ventures

Joint ventures are an extremely effective way to grow your business. However, it is extremely important for all the partners to be specific on their respective objectives when they draw up the joint venture agreement and then build and execute a plan that achieves these objectives.

Many people consider joint ventures as a way of establishing their business, particularly if they are having difficulty getting the business off the ground. A joint venture business plan that is executed properly can work wonders for any business at any stage of its evolution.

To help you decide if this type of business partnership would be effective to help you grow your own business it is important to understand the basic types of business venture arrangements that you can use, as these both function in different ways.

Put simply, a joint venture simply means two or more companies working together to achieve a common goal or purpose, and the key element in any such business partnership agreement is the accomplishment of agreed objectives for mutual benefit.

There are two basic types of joint ventures that you can aim to set up, depending upon your business objectives.

Co-ownership

As the name clearly suggests, in a co-ownership agreement both the parties are owners of the business partnership, usually in equal proportion but the ownership can be for different percentages depending upon the contribution of each party to the arrangement.

Suppose you and your friend are partners in a co-ownership venture then both of you will have a legally agreed initial investment and share in the business and are entitled to share the profits in the same proportion.

Running a company with dual or co-ownership can give rise to some operational difficulties at times so it is important for each party to be specific about the details of their involvement in the business partnership agreement right at the outside. By doing this, it is very possible to build up a very powerful business where all parties benefit.

Promotion Only

This concept is hugely popular in the world of Internet marketing. In a promotion only joint venture plan, your aim is to find hundreds or even thousands of online partners who will promote your product, your services or your entire business on their websites, to their email marketing lists, or on other sites across the Internet. In return, when your business makes a sale, a pre-agreed amount or percentage of your sales price or profit is paid out to your partner.

This type of business partnership arrangement is generally referred to as an affiliate program and has been the route to success for many online marketers over the years. As with all joint venture arrangements the businesses that become most successful are those that treat their partners well and are very clear about the benefits of promoting their product or service.

If you want to be extremely successful with a promotion only business venture your key goal is to make sure that you maximize the earnings payable to your affiliates for the visitors that they send to your site, to encourage them to keep promoting your offering.

Both the co-ownership and promotion only joint ventures offer great potential benefits to business owners so long as these are well planned and properly executed. It requires acting with honesty and integrity when you start your business and building a successful business partnership is exactly the same. If you follow this approach, you will be able to find many ways to use joint ventures to grow your business.

Payday Loans: No Credit Check No Fuss Loans

Payday loans are the fastest and most convenient option for getting a cash advance for emergencies before your next payday. However getting payday loans and their repayments involve certain important aspects. Herein we are trying to answer all your general questions related to Payday loans and we hope it will serve as a tool to open up any mystery surrounding payday loans or cash advance.

What Is A Payday Loan Or Cash Advance Loan?

We daily come across many loan types like housing loan, personal loan, and education loan. However, the payday loans are a new buzz in the market, and it is very popular. This loan is known by many names like "Cash Advance", "Paycheck loan", "Check loans" and "Payday advance loans". Let us understand what is a payday loan or cash advance loan and how and when it should be used for your maximum advantage. Payday loans are unsecured loans, which can be used for meeting your emergency financial needs and is paid back out of your next paycheck on your payday. Thus, payday loans are the shortest tenor loans among the other loans available in the market.

Are there any restrictions on payday loan or cash advance loan usage?

Many times we face a situation when we need money but but feel like our hands are tied as our payday is still several days away. In such a scenario, we either have to shelve or defer our plan of purchasing something or go for a heavy interest credit card loan to meet the obligation. The requirement could be to pay up unexpected medical bills, your kid's school fee, to avoid bouncing of your issued checks or any other financial obligation. In such trying times, payday loans or a cash advance comes in handy. Thus, you can use this cash advance for whatever purpose. There is no restriction on the usage of payday loans.

Am I eligible to receive a payday loan or cash advance loan?

The best thing about payday loans is that they can be had even if your credit rating is not very good. The second best thing about payday loans is that taking a cash advance does not affect your credit rating. All you need to be eligible to receive the payday loans is to have a running checking account and a regular job.

How should I apply for a payday loan?

To apply for the payday loans, we would say it is easier to do than to say. You can apply for payday loans online using Internet. You may be required to supply some basic information such as your Name, Address, and your employer details. Some companies offering payday loans may ask for your Bank Statement or pay stub over fax. The documents required by these companies for payday loans are minimum in comparison to other types of loans.

What is the fee charged for payday loans?

Before applying for payday loans, we suggest that you scan 5-6 companies for the fees they are charging. Some companies offer payday loans without any fee for the first week.

How much cash can I get with a payday loan?

The amount of payday loans ranges from $ 100 to $ 1000 depending upon the repaying capacity of the borrower.

What is the length of payday loans?

Normally a cash advance is supposed to be paid back on or before your coming payday. Therefore, the maximum length of payday loan could have been up to 30 days. However, some companies are flexible with respect to the loan duration as well. Payday loans can be extended until the next payday. This extension of payday loans however comes at a price.

How long does it take to get a payday loan?

Payday loans are much easier to get and in less time than other loans. After applying for a payday loan online, you will get a telephone call from the payday lender. After completing the small formalities, the cash advance will be credited to your checking account the next business day.

Does this mean I can enjoy my pay without waiting for my payday?

Before you jump for a payday loan, please note that the rate of interest charged for these loans is higher than other loans. Extended the duration of payment will only increase the fees charged. The payday loans or cash advance loan should be used very prudently and only for meeting financial exigencies that can not be avoided. Please remember that getting a payday loan or cash advance loan too frequently could offset your monthly budget and you may find it difficult to get out.

Ten Steps to Identifying Inventory You Can Reduce Now

Step 1: Make Sure the Inventory Records are Right.

How recently have you done a full physical inventory? When your warehouses go to pick stock that's showing in the system, are they often unable to find it? Your inventory accuracy needs to be close to 100% to ensure that you are getting the most from the working capital charged to you. Some businesses have discovered millions of dollars of working capital which turned out to be bogus when a physical-to-system reconciliation was done. So before you can reduce inventory, you first have to be sure exactly what you have!

Step 2: Find the inventory that's in "black holes."

As a corollary to your inventory accuracy exercise, be sure ALL your inventory locations are included in your accounting. When inventories get high, odd things happen that would not happen in normal circumstances. For example, an additional warehouse or storage facility, sometimes one not recognized by your order entry or ERP system, may be pressed into temporary service. Too often, this "unrecorded" inventory location is forgotten altogether (out of sight, out of mind). Distributed worldwide warehouses make this all the more possible, as do consignments without written and carefully monitored procedures for tracking and limiting their inventories. Find all these hidden "holes" (use the "institutional memory" in your collections' brains) and make sure they are part of the official record so that they, too, can be eliminated.

Step 3: Identify and dispose of worthless inventory.

Worthless inventory does not improve with age. Material can be defined as worthless if it has no identified demand (including consumption). Inventory can fall into this category for a number of reasons:

-Over age
-Out-of-Spec
-Excessive rework (eg, would take 3 years to "rework" - by which time you know you will have created more rework)
- "Heels" (partial boxes left-over at the end of a lot)
-Oboslete
-Raw or semi-finished material no longer needed because of a bill-of-materials change.
-Earlier "formulas" of a developmental product that now uses a different formulation.
-If there is no identified demand for it, bite the bullet - get rid of it!

Step 4: Identify and make plans for near-worthless inventory.

In addition to the obvious worthless inventory in Step 2, there is usually a large amount of material for which there may be some demand but not nearly enough to draw the inventory down in a timely manner. Examples include:

Transition materials or scrap.
-Unavoidable by-product or co-product created while making product which DOES have demand.
-Product for which last customer has converted to another product.
-Stocks of developmental products that never "took off" as expected.

Disposing of these materials is usually a bit more complex than for worth inventory, if only because there is more resistance to writing off their large volumes. In the case of the first two bullets, developing a market for these products is the most desirable way of disposing of them, especially since they will of necessity continue to be created. Coordinate with sales to find an outlet - even if it covers only variable cost, it's better than leaving the inventory sitting idle or having to write off the entire amount.

For products for which the last customer has converted to another product (a situation which proper inventory management would never have allowed to happen), approach the last customer who used the product and offer a special deal if he 'll use up the remaining inventory of the older product.

As for developmental products that never quite took off, this can be the toughest of the near-worthless inventory for sales to "let go of" emotionally. Hope, however, is not a sales plan. The business process should include sales at a (set) minimum rate within a (set) maximum time frame; if the sales have not developed by the drop-dead date, then the inventory does not one any good, and should be written off.

Step 5: Determine reasonable "rebalancing regions" to analyze separately.

Moving inventory over and under understated warehouses can be a fine way to improve your inventory turns, but shipping material back from Asia if it originally shipped to Asia from the US is probably not going to be feasible in the long run. All warehouses in the Eastern US, however, might be fair game for at least evaluating the tradeoffs of rebalancing inventory among warehouses. The remaining steps assume that you are working on total inventory within a "rebalancing region," without otherwise noted.

Step 6: Within a "rebalancing region," determine highest inventory SKUs in dollars and days of supply.

Since working capital is the bottom line, reducing very high levels of a $ 0.02 per lb. (or per part) item will not be as beneficial as reducing more moderate levels of a $ 2.00 per lb. (or part) item. Here, identifying the dollar value for each SKU is a necessary first step. Simultaneously, calculate the days of supply within each rebalancing region based on the average forecast for the next three months. For the top 20% of your SKUs by dollar value, put together a table of SKU, total dollar value, quantity, and days of supply. Be sure that if there is no demand for the next three months, you enter a very large number (eg, 999) instead of 0 as the days' supply. Sort the table in descending order of days of supply. If the days of supply for all of these items is higher than, say, twice their production cycle plus lead-time to the most remote warehouse in the region, continue. If not, reduce the list to just those for which the days of supply is higher than that value.

Step 7: Evaluate days' supply by individual warehouse within the "rebalancing region."

With your remaining list, look now at inventory by individual warehouse. Again,
recalculate dollars and days' supply based just on demand for that SKU at that warehouse. Is there far too much in one warehouse while there's far too little in another? If so, consider the cost of relocating the inventory vs. that of making more for the under-stocked warehouse. If the costs are right, rebalance the stocks (at least within your model model) before continuing.

Step 8: "First, Do No Harm."

Take a leaf from the Hippocratic Oath: the easiest way to reduce excess inventory is to stop buying / making more of it and let sales bring the inventory down. Check your rebalanced list against production schedules / plans to ensure you're not making or planning to make more of already over-stocked materials. Alter plans or schedules accordingly, and update future inventory projections.

Step 9: Evaluate alternate ways of moving / selling inventory.

You have now rebalanced the inventory within your warehouses, but you still may find excesses that can not be bought down to reasonable levels within an acceptable time period. For these SKUs, consider whether there are other ways to move the material:

Can the material be converted into another which does have demand? Offer a promotion. Turn an inventory problem into a marketing opportunity by offering your best customers a slightly reduced rate if they take double their normal monthly amount. It is true that this will surely move demand from one month to another, but if the need to bring down working capital is great enough, this can still be a viable option.

Can an excess SKU be repackaged economically into a needed SKU (say, bags to boxes or vice versa)? Better yet, can customers be enticed to take their second choice (ie, the original) package?

Can this material be substituted for another, even if the material to be substituted for sells for a somewhat higher price?

Can an opportunistic market be found for the excess material? Businesses sometimes remove their brand name from material, repackage it in plain brown bags, and give it a generic name for sales into a region far different from their prime customers.

Is this a material (often a raw material) for which a swap can be arranged with your competitors for another material for which your supply is short, or for which your supply and your need are in different regions of the world?

All such possibilities must of course be measured for cost / benefit tradeoffs, including the message you may inadvertently be sending to the marketplace.

Nonetheless, knowing where your excesses are provides options for what to do about them that the uninitiated can not even examine.

Step 10: Make the Ultimate "Sacrifice."

If, after analyzing all the possibilities above, you still have certain inventories vastly in excess, you may have to consider just writing them off. "Vastly in excess" will vary by business and by how critical it is that your working capital reach a certain target by a certain time. Inventory can not be managed in a vacuum, because writing off inventory means a hit on earnings. If it must be done, it is best done at the beginning of a quarter, so that the earnings impact will be seen in time for the business to do whatever it thinks appropriate to try to offset that loss. No one wants to scrap "good" inventory, so the most important lesson is not to allow yourself to get into this position again.

Calling All Q's: Four James Bond-Esque App Wishes From a Security Professional

Behind an intentionally understated and unmarked office facade at a secret location in San Jose, Troy Coleman conducts his business of protecting some of California's most beloved VIPs and celebs. Troy, an ex Alameda County sheriff and Military Policeman, has been involved in security details for such notables as Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Apple Incorporated. His security firm, Coleman Security and Investigations, is contracted of ex-military personnel and police officers, and he graciously revealed the true location of his office in order for me to come in and ask him about how technology has changed the private security and surveillance industry.

The conversation ranged from the use of infrared goggles for night assignments to the increasing threat to privacy that modern technology poses to individuals, and what was directed was a highly entertaining list of app wishes by Troy that he would like to see as part of future security teams .

Let's get started then.

App # 1: "An app that could help a security team track clients with a tracking device reflected in some sort of ring, pendant, or other object"

Well Troy, this one exists, kind of. The next two apps come from the realm of super-concerned parenthood. You've got to have a pendant that looks like this:

"The eZoom is a small device that can be placed into your child's backpack or permanently mounted in the car. and even monitor the speed of the car your child in which your child is riding. " Price $ 99 Source: Mashable

There is also the PocketFinder, another GPS tracking option that offers the same features, and works with a complementary iOS or android app. The unit is customizable to turn on the tracking function at certain times of the day to conserve valuable battery life. Price: $ 150.

App # 2: "An app that could have been used to sweep a room for bugs"

One concern that Troy raised is that it is increasingly difficult to keep trade secrets and remain completely private as a celebrity or executive in today's world, with all sorts of crazy hidden camera and listening devices available on the market. I could not find an app that was not getting awful reviews, and it looks that the few apps that claim to be able to detect bugs are just toys, kind of like "babe detector" or sobriety test apps. I did find an informative wikiHow article on the several ways in which you can detect bugs. One of the methods is buying a professional radio frequency detector, which range from $ 200- $ 3000, but there were also a couple of interesting manual techniques. Take a look at this gem:

A disadvantage to this method of manually detecting the glint in a pinhole camera's lens is that, if there is indeed a pinhole camera, it will capture you looking like a raving lunatic.

Another method of bug detection described in the article did involve a cellphone, whereby the person wishing to detect a bug waves a cellphone that is connected to a call near the suspect area. A series of clicking sounds will indicate radio interference to the call and could possibly indicate an actively transmitting bug.

App # 3: "An app that would improve communication between members of a security team"

I've actually used Apple's Facetime app combined with a dashboard iPhone mount (the #iOttie) to provide a live video feed of what I was seeing out of my windshield to my dad, as I drve around showing him the neighborhood that I just moved into. I felt pretty cool, but be warned: This racks up cellular data pretty quickly.

App # 4: A facial recognition app linked to a private database.

The scenario (privacy advocates, take a deep breath): VIP guests are mingling at an event. Tragedy strikes. One of the guests is down. A security team member runs up to the fallen, snaps a photo of the person's face, and is presented with an ID of the victim from the firm's own database, including important medical information that can be passed on to the emergency services crew.

Facial recognition is a touchy area for consumers and developers. Google announced in June that it would be banning facial recognition apps due to privacy concerns, but that has not stopped hackers from giving Google Glass this capability.

Face.com has developed an app for iOS and android that recognizes the user's Facebook friends, so theoretically one could use that app for the above scenario as long as the customer agreed to become Facebook friends with the protective services company.

Tips on Preserving Your iPhone's Battery Life

Battery life - the constant concern of cell phone users everywhere. And if you own an iPhone-which functions not only as a communication device but is also capable to run literally hundreds of applications-loss of battery life can feel like the end of the world: your communication world, that is. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to help preserve your iPhone's battery life, just as long as you follow some simple pointers.

Before we explore ways to reserve iPhone battery life, let's cover some specs. Your iPhone has a rechargeable lithium ion battery, which lasts 300 hours in stand-by, 12 hours in talk mode, 30 hours in audio playback, and 10 hours in video playback. Battery life decrees by around 20% after about 500 charges. Also keep in mind iPhone batteries have to be maintained for the entire life of the phone-the battery is clearly embedded within the iPhone itself, so it can not be replaced-so it must be charged at all times. Having this information is critical to understanding how to get the best performance from your iPhone battery. However, knowing what the battery is capable of does not cover what you can do to conserve that battery power.

First off, make sure that there are not a number of applications left running on your phone post-purchase. Turning off applications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can go a long way to preserving battery life. Second: chargers, chargers, chargers! There are reliably inexpensive chargers available for every location you can imagine. A popular charger is a 2 in 1 that can be used with a wall socket or plugged into a computer's USB port. Since technology is constantly being upgraded, there is even a new solar powered battery on the market. This charger works by converting sunlight into iPhone charging energy. This charger also has the ability to store energy as a back-up for later use-almost guaranteeing you will not ever run out of juice. One final charging tip: Apple recommends that you standardize the iPhone battery by completely draining it of its charge at least once a month, then recharging it fully.

Getting a charge out of your iPhone and then keeping it as simple as following these guidelines. Making sure you're always fully powered is the best way of preserving the amazing capabilities of your new iPhone.

Rabbit Business

There are many people who prefer business than any stable job because they feel that conducting business is an opportunity that can enhance their growth and development. Before you indulge in any business endeavor, you know that there are other businesses that doom to fail but it can be avoided if you prepare for it and you handle it properly. Do not let any bad experience stop or kill your business dream. If you are ready for the risks and challenges, you should do your best to make your business a reality. There are many things that you can use for you to be successful, do not worry. You just need to put your heart to it, believe in what you do and more importantly bring along a lot of attitude like patience, persistence and hard work. With these things, for sure success will be yours in no time.

Preparing for the business is not an easy thing because it needs a lot of research, decision-making and time. You should first determine what business you are willing to undertake. We know that there are many lucrative business ideas in the market these days but you should see to it that you are actually addressing a demand. In this case if you see or feel the demand or need of rabbits in your place, you can begin with that. Rabbit business is good because they are known for their rapid reproductive rate; you can get meat from them, furs and more importantly many laboratories employ them for important experiments. It is important that you conduct market research first so that you will know the situation of the market you are going to enter. Business proposals should also be considered; you should thoroughly include important details like the capital vent, the proposed area, facilities, manpower and the like. But if you want to start small, you are welcome to do that. Here are some things that you can check to make your rabbit business a success:

1. If you start small, you should provide rabbits with a good living condition. Few hutches will do with water system, proper ventilation and feed hopper. If you want to expand, it is time to get a larger place and install cooling or heating systems.

2. It is important that there is someone who will exceed their condition. It could be your veterinarian or someone who knows how to take care of rabbits especially if they are many. This is important so that you will maintain their cleanliness and prevent the outbreak of disease. Outbreaks are bad for business.

3. More importantly, you should make sure that your rabbit farm is complaint with your local laws. You should follow the standard like sanitation and other things because if you do not, you will be penalized or worst, your business will be closed for good.

Indeed business is a risky thing but if you handled it properly, it can become one of your greatest achievement. Just believe in what you do and love it because it can make a great difference at the end of the day. Rabbit business is good. Go and prosper!

Your Virtual Reality

You are not going to like this, but the odds are uncomfortable high that your physical reality is not physical at all, but virtual. In other words, you do not exist with the substance and structure you think you exhibit. Even though you may play various simulation or video games, you in turn are being played, or at least programmed, by persons or things unknown. So here is the Simulation Hypothesis, otherwise known as the Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe scenario, in review.

Premise: There exists technologically advanced extraterrestrial civilizations (the exact number is of no consequence) and / or our descendants qualify as having constructed an advanced terrestrial civilization, way in advance of that in the early 21st Century.

Premise: Such civilizations, ours or heads, not only possess advanced technology, but have and do experience exponential growth in those and ever newer technologies.

Premise: Such civilizations do not become extinct.

Premise: Such civilizations build and run simulations, just as we in the early 21st Century do. The reasons are numerous. There are simulations for research purposes, fun and profit, educational training, etc.

Premise: There are vastly more simulated worlds and beings than there are real worlds and befits if our own here and now is anything to go by given the ever prolongation of video games, etc.

Premise: Consciousness or awareness can be simulated. Consciousness or awareness is what you are, but you are just information, a code, an alphabet constructed out of letters that form words that form sentences that form paragraphs that form chapters that extremely form you - you're a book in human form. You can reduce any life form down to its genetic code - information. Information can be coded as bits and bytes. In essence your uniqueness is just a barcode and your consciousness or awareness is just the interactions of your barcode with all the rest of the sets of software that combine the Simulation (Virtual Reality) Universe scenario.

If the above six are awarded, then the conclusion is that it is highly likely that we are 'living' in a simulation. The logic is sound. If you reject the conclusion, you must reject one or more of the six initial promises and there could be no if, ands or buts about your objection. There could be no possible counter objections or exceptions to your objection or rejection of any one or more of the concessions. For example, you might object and say that such civilizations do go extinct before developing advanced simulation technologies, but that would have to apply 100% across the board.

Let's start with the assumption that you do not really exist in a really real reality. Instead, you are virtual reality, a creation (along with the rest of life, the Universe and everything) by a flesh-and-blood fallible Supreme Programmer that created software that resulted in our Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe. What types of things might follow from such a scenario?

In case that idea freaks you out, reflect that even if you have just exhausted as bits and bytes (instead of a collection of elementary particles and forces), it does not alter one jot anything you did or did not do in your past , whether or not you are pleased with anything you have or have not completed. Whatever runs you have on the board are still there.

Being a virtual being will not alter one jot anything about your future. Since the software controls life, the Universe and everything, once the initial parameters were set, everything became deterministic, even if not predictable to mortals (of which the Supreme Programmer is one). The Universe, of which you are a part, is unfolding as it should. The fact that the output is not predictable should not be surprising since that's the point of doing a simulation. What's the point of doing a simulation if you already know what the income is going to be?

Free Will: A software generated universe would not give you the option of free will. Even for quite different reasons, many people believe that they do not have any free will and yet they still go through life quite content with whatever their deterministic runs are on the board happened to be, so a sudden discover that you do not have free will because you are pre-programmed bits and bytes should not unplug your heating pad. If you stop and reflect on things, even if you do have free will it is so constrained by physics, chemistry and biology and by society that you might as well stuff most of it in a box and bury it.

If you're still freaked out, it does not quite matter what your chair is made of tiny strings; electrons, neutrons and protons; a quantum wave function; or bits and bytes? You can still sit in it! That's your bottom's line! If your simulation is as good (or better) that really real reality, what's the difference?

Billions and billions of people have come and gone never ever even conceiving of the possibility of a virtual reality world, and though none the wiser, their virtual reality had absolutely no bearing on what they thought they were, what kind of life they thought they had led, and all the things they completed and patted themselves on the back for.

So what are some of the opportunities of the Simulation (Virtual Reality) Universe scenario?

For starters, you have an explanation of why there is something rather than nothing - a philosophical quandary that ranks right up there with the Big Questions of reality. Software is a something and you can not have a virtual reality or a simulation without those bits and bytes.

Ageing: At the moment of your conception your aging process began yet there would appear to be no theoretical reason for the aging process Regardless, there appears to be nothing you can do about this or its inevitable conclusion. Your health will decline with aging until you die. Even if you spend your existence in some sort of 'safe house' free from accidents and deliberate acts of malice against you; even if all the air you breathed was filtered free from harmful bacteria and viruses and pollutants; even if you ate a perfectly balanced diet of three meals a day with all foods free of artificial colors, flavors and ingredients and everything was 100% 'organic' with lots of fruits and vegetables; even if your water was distilled and absolutely pure; even if you took no drugs like caffeine or nicotine or alcohol; even if every moment of every day was absolutely stress free; even if you got your eight hours of sleep a day; even if you got lots of exercise, both mental and physical, you will still age and go downhill toward that bucket which you will kick. You can not prevent that complex biochemical aging time bomb that's inherently inside you and which emerged from the simplicity of your conception. As I said, there does not appear to be any physical, chemical or biological reasons why you should age. On the other hand, that could have considered one of the consequences or subroutines of your software program

Death: If life is an emergent property of the cosmos, then death is an emergent property of life, though if you can stay clear of accidents, murder, or disease, there would appear to be little reason for one to kick the bucket since there is no theoretical reason why a living organism has to die a natural death providing the body continuously receives an adequate supply of all resources required for life (food, oxygen or carbon dioxide (if a plant), water, etc.). However, entropy will not be denied and there is nothing you can do (at least in the here and now) about it no matter how well you follow doctor's orders. Again, sometimes death is just one of those programmed in subroutines of your software programming.

Afterlife: Although many people believe in an afterlife, or at least would like to, they would be hard-pressed to come with logical or scientific reasons how it could actually come to pass other than God says so. However, in the Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe, an afterlife is just a software program away, as 'easy' as constructing as your normal programmed virtual 'life'. It's just end software subroutine Jane Doe's 'life'; begin software subroutine Jane Doe's 'afterlife'. The other interesting possibility here is that the sort of afterlife your culture instilled into you will be the one that you receive, even though concepts of the afterlife broadly from culture to culture.

God: The Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe scenario has no impact on theological belief systems. If you believe in God, then you argue that God created the Supreme Programmer. If your theology is flexible, you could believe that the Supreme Programmer is a 'god' or passes for a deity. If you're an atheist, you still have your faith against the existence of a supernatural being, of which the Supreme Programmer is not - supernatural that is. You can give God the big thumbs down while acknowledging ET having some fun with a software program. But you've got to wonder how the major organized trilogy of monotheistic religions are going to react when they discover that their God is actually some teenage computer geek who created our life, the universe and, well, virtual everything as a science project!

External Reality: There would reliably little effect on what you perceive about your external reality. It would probably be a reflection of really real reality (RRR). That is without you came across an anomaly or a miracle, something that most would say "it can not be there it is not" to counter your "I know what I saw". I mean witnessing such an out of the ordinary things as crop circles, Sasquatch (Bigfoot), the Loch Ness Monster or a sea serpent, a ghost or a host of other paranormal or pseudoscientific mysteries that are unexplained phenomena.

Quantum Physics: Quantum physics is all around (and inside) of you, and has to be counted as part of your really real reality (RRR). Quantum physics would have to qualify as one of those 'paranormal' anomalies. Any physicist who tells you with a straight face that quantum physics is not very anomalous is a very good actor and superb liar. However, you are illegally to detect the anomalies unless you are conversant with quantum physics and look for the anomalies as a matter of course. Everything appears normal, but looks can be very deceiving.

Fine-Tuning: It's been noted by many that quite a few of the laws, principles and relationships of physics, and chemistry too, have values ​​such that if those values ​​varied by even a small amount, biology would not be possible. In fact, in some cases chemistry would not be possible, nor even much of physics. This calls for an explanation. The first is that it's all blind luck - sometimes you get dilet a royal flush on the very first hand of your very first poker game. The second explanation is that there exists a Multiverse - thousands, millions, billions, even trillion of universes each with a different set of those laws, principles and relationships of physics. 99.999% of those universes will not be suitable for biology (as we know it) or even chemistry or much of physics for that matter, but just based on sheer probability, a tiny few will turn out to be a Goldilocks (bio-friendly) universe. The initial objection I have is not with the concept of a Multiverse, but with the idea that the laws, principles and relationships of physics will be different in each of the various universes. There's no explanation of why this must be so. Of course that does not alter why our Universe is bio-friendly, and that's what counts, otherwise we would not be here, would we? Explanation number three is of course God and intelligent design. We're here because God designed in the beginning a bio-friendly Universe and a bio-friendly Planet Earth. The concept of God has so much baggage that I have lots of trouble accepting that explanation. But I do like the variation on the theme - the Supreme Programmer. If you are going to design software for a simulation or a video game, etc. you have got to intelligently design that software to keep those inconsistencies or oops to an absolute minimum, if not ideally zero. The simulation or video game has to be a viable simulation or video game, or in other words, a Goldilocks simulation or a bio-friendly video game.

SETI: Why can not radio or other astronomers find any evidence for ET? - Because because extraterrestrials were never programmed into the VR software.

The End: Computers (or CD and DVD players which run 'software' in the form of CDs or DVDs) come with all manner of controls. You can hit the 'pause' bottom to freeze the action in time or the 'stop' button to recycle the action back to the beginning. You can hit 'enter' or 'play' to unfreeze the action or to start or restart the action. In many cases you can hit the 'delete' button. If our simulated world is embedded in software in a typical computer (we're unlikely to be encoded on a CD or DVD but who knows) then 'The End' can come at any moment (sort of like what Christians keep saying about their Second Coming, the apocalypse or Armageddon).

The Supreme Programmer could hit 'pause' which means life, the Universe and everything just freezes until the Supreme Programmer hits 'play' again. We'd never be aware of that 'missing time' any more than the characters in a DVD film are aware of the time lapse if you hit the pause button to go answer the phone while watching their film. The Supreme Programmer could hit the 'stop' button to recycle everything back to the beginning. We would not be aware of that until sometimes such time as our recycles moment in the sun came around again and we got that feeling of déjà vu. The Supreme Programmer could possibly tweak his software with a downloadable update which might also serve to wipe our memories of 'before the tweak' so that we would not notice any discrepancies between the 'before' and the 'after'. Or, if our virtual memory was not wiped with the upgrade, then that might account for why some of our physical 'constants' do not seem to be quite so constant after all. Rewritten over software may also account for phantoms, both animate (like ghosts) and inanimate. Lastly, the Supreme Programmer is finished and the program ends. Of course the Supreme Programmer could now rerun the program, or tweak / upgrade it and rerun it. It's interesting to note how many cosmologies, especially ancient ones like the Maya and Hindus, have a recycling cosmology: cosmic Birth - cosmic existence - cosmic death; cosmic birth - cosmic existence - cosmic death. Even Christianity promises a new heaven and a new earth after those 'end of days' or the 'end times'. Of course the Supreme Programmer could just hit the 'delete' button and that's just the End of our virtual life, the virtual Universe and the virtual everything; or perhaps accidently drop the computer smashing it to smithereens; or spill his coffee over the keyboard; Egypt may the hard-drive crashes; or maybe the Supreme Programmer just turns the computer off and dies before ever turning it back on. This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a fade-to-black.