Spanish Galleon Visits Fort Lauterdale

The year 2013 has a special anniversary for Florida. Exactly 500 years ago in 1513 the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the shores of Florida and named the land Florida due to the many wild blooming flowers he found there. Florida would then become home to the first permanent European settlement on the continent of North America. One of the many things happening to commemorate this occasion is the visit of a replica of a Spanish galleon to Florida. There is currently a replica of a 1526 Spanish galleon in the marina of Fort Lauderdale available for tours. Though this ship is larger than the caravel that Ponce de Leon used to find Florida, it is a wonderful insight into the types of ships that were used by explorers during the Age of Discovery and you can get a idea of what it was like to be a sailor back in the sixteenth century. Tours of the ship El Galeon are available for free here courtesy of Broward County.

Churchill has short-term rental apartments throughout Florida. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or email Florida@furnishedhousing.com for more information.

Police Nationwide are Stepping Up Seat Belt Enforcement

As Memorial Day approaches police nationwide will be aggressively stepping up enforcement for seat belt violations. This is all a part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2013 “Click It or Ticket” campaign which will be in full force between May 20 and June 3. It is estimated that there will be twice as many tickets issued during the next two weeks compared to any other average two week period. This heightened enforcement also has the interesting side effect of providing cash-strapped state governments with much needed extra revenue. So let this serve as a reminder to always wear a seat belt when riding in a motor vehicle no matter where you may be sitting in it. They will not only help save your life if you’re in a car accident but they’ll also save you a nasty fine from your local law enforcement in the next few weeks.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.

The Cockroach of Communications Technology

Cockroaches are well known for being big, ugly insects that many people hate. They’re also rather famous for their ability to survive almost any changes in their environment making them very difficult to get rid of. When it comes to the technology that we use to communicate with one another, the fax machine is the cockroach of communications technology. Invented in 1964, the fax machine became widely used in business by the late 1970s and at the time it was considered the quickest way of sending written documents quickly over long distances. But now the internet exists and with it many more superior alternatives to sending and reviving information.

So why does the fax machine still survive to this day? CNN recently took a look at why many businesses are still using the fax machine. The main reason is momentum. While there are digital alternatives to faxing, there is still no universally accepted standard between businesses. In the absence of that, faxing is still very much alive in finance, law, and especially healthcare. There is one other major comparative advantage to faxing and that is security. It is far easier to securely fax sensitive information than it is to securely send it over the internet. So even in this age of constantly changing communications technology, the fax machine still has its niche. And much like the cockroach it has found a way to survive.

It’s going to take more than Office Space to kill the fax machine.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.

Cooking at Home or Dining Out?

One of the biggest economic trends over the past five years has been in how we eat. In more difficult economic times many Americans find themselves eating out at restaurants less often and going to less expensive restaurants when they do eat out. TurboTax recently studied this shift in behavior and published the biggest findings in this infographic. The bottom line? 57 percent of Americans now consider going out to eat a luxury and price now plays a much larger factor in determining which restaurant to eat at. For the restaurant industry this means getting the most bang for your buck is more important than ever as diners are now increasingly seeking value over many other factors.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.

The Lesser Known National Parks

America has some incredible national parks within its borders. In total America’s national parks cover 52 million acres of land and attracted 63 million visitors last year. However, they’re not all created equal. For every well known and well visited park Grand Canyon or Yellowstone there are several other lesser known parks like Acadia or Isle Royale. CNN has put together a list of four of these parks that are incredibly beautiful but far less popular. The next time you’re considering traveling to one of our country’s 59 National Parks, consider some of these less traveled parks:

1. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
2. Glacier National Park, Montana
3. Redwood National Park, California
4. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Crater Lake, the world’s second deepest lake and one of the National Park Service’s best kept secrets.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.

Four Ways to Save Money Shopping Online

Recently the Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act which is going to make an internet sales tax a reality for all of us. Even as we inch further towards a sales tax being slapped on to all of our online purchases, there is still plenty of other ways to save money on your online purchases that TIME recently compiled. Here are their recommendations:

Use Coupon Codes: Sites like RetailMeNot.com, CouponCabin.com, and BradsDeals.com aggregate coupon codes from a wide variety of online merchants. Taking advantage of these can get you a pretty healthy discount.

Use Credit Card Rewards: If you have a store credit card, using that card on that store’s website usually nets you a pretty healthy discount. If you make a lot of purchases from a single merchant getting their credit card might not be a bad idea.

Abandon Your Shopping Cart: Some merchants will email you a discount offer if you put items in your shopping cart and leave them there. Online retailers figure that if you came so close to purchasing a little extra incentive can help push you into making the transaction. It may take a day or two but you can “virtually haggle” with online vendors using this tactic.

Make Your Online Purchases Now: Don’t wait for your state to start taxing your online purchases. With big-ticket items a 7-9 percent sales tax can easily add up to hundreds of dollars. If your state hasn’t imposed an online sales tax yet, make your big ticket purchases before your state decides to take a cut of the action.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.

6 Tricks to Improve Your Own Time Management

In many of our jobs there always seems to be too much work to do and not enough time to do it. It turns out that there are many strong little time management tricks that can help anyone get a lot more work done. Forbes has put together a list of many of those tricks and they include:

Limit Time Spent on Email: If possible designate certain points of the day where you take care of email and try to rely on it less. Keep your emails short and try to send less of them. Taking control of your email can free up a lot more time to work on other projects.

Take Time to Clear Your Head: Taking a few minutes away from your desk will help you be able to stay fresher more focused when you are working. Spacing out these little mini-breaks will make you more productive when you do work.

To-do Lists: Having a clear, written list of things that you want to get done in a day will improve your chances of actually getting those things done. Make sure you’re to-do list is ordered by priority and realistically possible.

Eliminate Unnecessary Meetings: Too many meetings can add up to being a big waste of time. Ask yourself if the meeting is really, truly necessary and if it isn’t say no.

Don’t Multitask: Always try giving the task at hand your full and undivided attention. Too much multitasking can lead to mistakes and negatively affect the quality of your work. When you’re done with one task you can move on to the next one.

Clean Your Desk: Take time to clean up your desk at the and of the day. File away what you need, throw out what you don’t. One of the many benefits of being well organized is the time you save by knowing where everything is.

Churchill has short-term corporate housing available Nationwide. Please contact us at 866-255-0593 or National@FurnishedHousing.com for more information.