Inforgraphic: A Visual History of Thanksgiving

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Thanksgiving is one of the biggest holidays of the year in the United States. It’s an opportunity to gather with family and friends to celebrate, give thanks, and even watch a little football.

The Thanksgiving holiday has an interesting history and several intriguing facts surrounding it. For example, did you know that the government officials tried to make Thanksgiving an official holiday in both 1630 and 1789, but that it didn’t catch on as a holiday until President Lincoln officially made it one in 1863?

Please take a look at the attached infographic that provides a great breakdown on the history of this holiday, including food consumption, parade attendance, and the real reason why we play so much football on Thanksgiving.

We hope that you have a fantastic Thanksgiving with friends and family.

thanksgiving_infographic

Halloween Safety Tips

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Halloween is one of children’s favorite holidays. The chance to dress up in a costume and fill bags with candy is a sure way to excite any youngster. For parents, though, the night can be a little stressful as you worry about your kids’ safety.

To help make sure the night stays safe and enjoyable for you and your children, we have put together a brief list of Halloween safety tips. We encourage you to take a look at it just in case there is a tip or two that will help you avoid any potential accidents or danger.

Trick-or-treating

  • Make sure your children take flashlights so they can avoid tripping over obstacles on the sidewalk or in yards. Flashlights and glow sticks will also help your children be seen by motorists.
  • If you allow your older kids to go out without your supervision, make sure they go out in a group. Don’t ever allow your kids to go out alone or even in pairs; make sure they go out with at least 3-4 other kids.
  • Map out their route so you know where they will be and when they should be home.
  • Tell your kids to only stop at familiar homes where you know the residents and where the outside lights are on.
  • Instruct your kids to WALK from house to house and NEVER run.
  • Make sure your kids know to never enter anyone’s home, to never accept rides from strangers, and to never take shortcuts through yards or other dimly lit areas.

Costumes:

  • Costumes should be light enough to be clearly visible to motorists. You may even want to add reflective tape to both your child’s costume and bag.
  • Make sure your child’s costume is labeled flame-resistant.
  • Costumes should be short to prevent trips and falls.
  • Try cosmetic face paint rather than a mask. Masks, especially on children, may not fit properly and can obstruct vision.
  • Be sure to remove all face paint that night to prevent skin irritation.

Candy

  • Don’t allow your child to eat any candy before you have a chance to inspect it for choking hazards or tampering.
  • Only permit your child to eat candy that is unopened in its original wrapper. Any homemade or unwrapped candy should be discarded.
  • A good way to prevent your kids from eating any candy before they get home is to make sure you give them a meal or snack right before they go out.
  • Above all else, limit the amount of candy your child eats after they get home or you will be dealing with one big stomachache.

Adults

  • Use additional caution when driving a vehicle. Lookout for children who might run into traffic from behind parked cars or other obstacles.
  • Turn on your porch and any other exterior lights to welcome trick-or-treaters to your home.
  • Remove any obstacles from your lawns, steps or porches that could be a tripping hazard for children or adults.
  • Keep all jack-o’-lanterns from doorsteps or steps where a child could brush by the flame with their costume.
  • If you keep your jack-o’-lantern inside, place it on a sturdy table away from curtains or other ignitable decorations and out of reach from children and pets.

4th of July Safety Tips

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Fireworks over Boston

Firework safety:

There are nearly 9,000 emergency room injuries associated with fireworks each year, and approximately 40 percent of those injuries involve children under the age of 15.  This is according to an annual study done by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Here are some guidelines to ensure firework safety on our Nation’s Birthday.

  • Never give fireworks to small children, and always follow the instructions on the packaging. (23 percent of reported injuries happen to children under age 5.)
  • Keep a bucket of water or a hose close-by as a precaution.
  • Please obey the local laws.  Do not use illegal fireworks.
  • Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.
  • Don’t alter or combine fireworks.
  • Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight “a dud.”
  • Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from children and pets.
  • Never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.

Water safety at the pool and beach:

  • Never swim alone, especially if you are swimming in the ocean, a lake or a river.
  • Do not jump into water headfirst unless the area is clearly marked for diving.
  • Keep all safety equipment in plain view of the pool.
  • Remove all toys from the pool when not in use so that kids aren’t tempted to reach for them.
  • Teach children basic water safety tips including how to find the nearest wall and how to pull themselves out of the pool.
  • If a child is missing, check the pool first. Go to the edge of the pool and scan the entire pool-bottom and surface-as well as the surrounding pool area.

Safe Grilling:

  • Keep grills away from wood siding, deck rails, house eaves, or any other wood or combustible material.
  • Keep a fire extinguisher near the barbeque as they cause thousands of fires a year.
  • Follow all safety restrictions that come with the manual.
  • Keep your grill clean, as grease buildup can be a huge fire hazard.
  • Do not allow children or pets near the barbeque.
  • Never add charcoal starter fluid when coals have already been ignited.
  • Always supervise a barbecue grill when in use.

Additional Safety Resources:
http://www.fireworksafety.com/
http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/fireworks.html
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/pet-care-tips/july-4th.aspx

Guide: 12 Time Management Tips & Tricks

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How many of us truly feel we manage our time exactly the way we want, maximize our productivity, aren’t influenced by distractions and are rarely interrupted?

For most of us the exact opposite is true, right?   It seems like projects continue to pile up on our desks, our inboxes continue to fill, and employees continue to come to us with “emergencies”.

By effectively managing our time, we can actually accomplish more quality work in a shorter amount of time.   Few of us, though, understand how to correctly manage our time.

To help you better manage your time, we put together a short eBook of the most effective habits entitled Top 12 Time Management Tips and Tricks.   In it you will find our favorite ideas to help you take control of your day.

To give you an idea of what the eBook entails, here are a few of the tips we discuss:

  • Conquering Interruptions
  • Efficient To-Do Lists
  • Managing Your Inbox
  • Effectively Prioritizing Your Day

To download a copy of the eBook, please click here.

Infographic: Protecting Your Personal Data

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Have you ever thought about what you would do if you lost all of your family photos or videos due to a problem with your computer?

As your insurance agent, our goal is to protect those items that are most valuable to you.  And what is more valuable than the information many of us store on our home computers?

Knowing that families’ most precious memories like photos and videos are stored on computers now, we have put together a brief infographic to provide some valuable tips and tricks on protecting your personal data.

You can download a copy of the infographic by clicking here. 

Insuring Bicycles

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As the weather is starting to warm up, more and more people are getting outdoors to enjoy the weather.   Part of this may include taking a bicycle outside to enjoy the mountains or maybe just a lazy bike trail.

One of the questions we frequently receive is in regards to properly insuring a bicycle if it is lost, damaged, or destroyed.  So we thought it would be good to spend a few paragraphs explaining the best way to cover your bicycle with insurance.

Most bicycles are covered as property on your homeowners policy policy under the contents limit and the policy will provide coverage whether the bike is stolen or destroyed on your property, in your vehicle, or at another premises.  One of the things to pay close attention to, though, is the limit of insurance you have for the bike.   Some policies will only provide a sublimit of insurance of $1,000 to $1,500, which might not be adequate for an expensive racing bike that may have cost you thousands of dollars.  If you have an expensive, customized, or unique we recommend speaking with your agent about purchasing some additional coverage for the bike.

What about if you hit somebody or destroy property while riding your bike?  Will insurance pick that up as well?   Typically, your homeowners policy will also protect you for any damage or injuries you cause while riding your bike up to the limits of liability on your policy.   Every insurance policy is different, though, so it’s important you speak to your agent about how your specific policy would respond in the event of a bicycle-related claim.

Technology News: Hackers Can Access Your Car Remotely

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Interesting article on how hackers have now figured out a way to infiltrate your car’s computer remotely using Bluetooth or even just a simple CD.

As if worrying about your car getting dinged in the parking lot and avoid pot holes wasn’t enough, researchers at the Universities of San Diego, California, and Washington were able to infiltrate the car’s main frame in a variety of ways.

In one case, the researchers simply called the car’s cellular connection and uploaded malicious software via an audio file. In another, they connected to the car’s blue tooth system to hack in.

The researchers were even able to take a CD where they had added code to an existing song to create the song into a Trojan Horse virus. Once the song was played, the virus was released allowing them access to the car’s main computer.

Once access is gained to the main frame computer in the car, hackers could remotely track the vehicle, disable the locks, disable the brakes, and more.